The Unexpected Pokémon Interview
by Charminghex99
Summary: Professor Oak never expected anyone to question his sources when lecturing at Pokétech University. However Dr. Namba has often been skeptical of the professor's research. When he lets slip that most of his research on Legendaries comes from a certain trainer from Pallet Town, the media begin to swarm. Can Ash handle the attention?
1. The Slip That Started It All

Chapter 1-The Slip That Started It All

Professor Samuel Oak reviewed his flashcards. A quick glance from behind the curtain revealed a whole room full of Poké-researchers and journalists. It was funny how that despite the number of times he'd lectured, the Butterfrees in his stomach continued to flutter. He practiced his breathing exercises. Alright, he was ready. He smiled at the crowd, and stepped into out into the limelight.

"Hello there. Glad to meet you all! My name is Oak. People affectionately refer to me as the Pokémon Professor." He grinned as the crowd laughed. Almost everyone, Dr. Namba in the back seemed to have his expression permanently set into a frown. "As many of you already know, this world is inhabited far and wide by the mysterious creatures known as Pokémon. Some people live with Pokémon as companions. Others enter battles with them. Me? I study them."

"So you say!" A rather belligerent voice called from the back. Oak had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. Why did the doctor even bother to come, if he didn't want to listen? His area of study was Pokémon strength augmentation. He wouldn't be interested in learning about living peaceably with powerful Pokémon. He would rather strap a device on them, and see how much power they could release. There were even rumors that the man was a former Team Rocket member. So why was he even here?

"Please Dr. Number…" Oak started to say.

"IT'S NAMBA! DR. NAMBA!" The other researcher screamed.

"Yes. Yes. If you are going to be dismissive, the exit is right over there. If you reconsider, you might be able to watch a rerun on the telly later." The room broke out into chuckles. "Now onto what the rest of you came here for. For your educational pleasure, the newest addition to the Legendary class… the GENESECT."

The curtain behind oak parted, revealing a screen. The lights dimmed, the only remaining lights shining on the stage. An image of a metallic Pokémon appeared before the people. "Now this Pokémon originally came from ancient fossils. There are only five of them known to be in existence. We do not know who created them, but…"

A hand raised from a reporter in the audience. "Professor, what do you mean created?"

Professor Oak nodded sagely. "That is a good question. I'm not sure how many of you realize this, but there had been several discussions between researchers on an experimental new field; cloning. Not to be confused with the revitalization projects that revive ancient Pokémon like Omastar and Kabutops. Cloning does not involve fossils, but creating a whole new Pokémon based on a DNA sample. The topic is highly controversial, because often there is a temptation to modify the DNA to create a more powerful specimen. Until today, there had only been rumors of super-Pokémon created by evil syndicates like Team Rocket."

In the back of the room, Dr. Namba blanched. Team Rocket was still reeling from the downfall of the Mew project. The original scientists were dead. The specimen escaped, and managed to wipe the memories of everyone involved with its capture. The Rockets still had the financial books for the projects, but no evidence pointing to where Mewtwo had escaped to. Giovanni was very eager to hear about an actually successful cloning project, hence why the bad doctor was there. The boss wanted a full report on the power of this new type of Pokémon, and how it might be appropriated for the glory of Team Rocket. However, they would have to be careful now. If the group was associated with cloning, they might be blamed for the trouble the Pokémon had already caused. They had enough heat. No need for more publicity, until the Boss was ready to lay out all of his cards.

"However, I believe that a different team was responsible for the experiments that modified these ancient Pokémon into weapons. Canons were attached to the Pokémon's back, and longer claws attached to the limbs. The Genesect have also gained another form. Their normal state is bipedal like in this photo here." The Poké-prof pointed at his first image of the Genesect, before clicking his hand held remote. The image changed to a flying disk with eyes. "They have another form that is flatter, and allows the Pokémon to hover at faster speeds. There are currently five of this new type in existence and each seem to have a different element of power it can emit. Team Plasma the strongest group in the Unova area are the most likely culprits. However, the five Pokémon escaped their clutches."

The professor clicked a remote, and the image changed to a red Genesect. "I believe that these Pokémon are pack oriented. This red one is the leader. The other purple Genesect follow his lead, and from my sources one of them is quite young."

"Wait a minute there Professor!" A male reporter asked. "What sources?"

"A very reliable one." Oak raised one eyebrow. "As I was saying…"

Dr. Namba realized this was his chance to derail the meeting, and give the Rockets more time to gather intelligence themselves. "Yes what sources do you have Professor?"

Oak sighed. "Every trainer that receives a Pokédex offers the data they collect to the prominent professor of the area. For me, the trainers from the Kanto region offer their data. I focus mainly on the relationships between people and Pokémon. Professor Elm in Johto uses the data for his research on breeding. I believe Professor Birch in the Hoenn region uses most of the info from the trainers there to study the habitats of people and Pokémon. My friend Professor Rowan has just made a major breakthrough in Pokémon evolution, thanks to the information provided by his trainers. Finally Miss Aurea Juniper is the leading expert in the mythology of Pokémon. Every time a Pokédex scans a new specimen the device sends the data to our own personal computers. From there we are able to measure the newest entries with software. Then we approximate the height, weight, and if there have been previous sightings the trainer gets whatever data we've been able to collect. Needless to say, the more scans, the more accurate the information. That is what we Poké-profs get our data."

Another reporter in the back called out. "So who provided the data on the Genesect?" Now Oak rubbed his eyes. It seemed no one wanted to hear his lecture after all. "I cannot reveal the individual who provided most of this data. That would be breach of their trust."

The whole room broke out into murmurs. Dr. Namba grinned evilly. "One individual Professor? You wanted to lecture the scientific community on a brand new Pokémon, based on the say so of one person? How presumptuous of you Oak."

The media personal in the room were in a frenzy. Several tried to talk over each other, to get their question answered by the Professor. One resorted to outright screaming. Oak was fed up. "QUIET! Alright I will answer one more question, and then we get back to the actual reason we all came for. Please confer amongst yourselves, and then let's get back to business."

The room got a little more focused, but Oak was getting irritated. Finally, one brave reporter was ready to ask the man on the podium a question. "Is this mysterious source the basis of some of your studies with other Legendary Pokémon?"

"Well, yes of course. They've provided me with firsthand accounts of nearly all of my data on Legendary Pokémon." The Professor nodded sagely. Meanwhile the whole room had quieted. It seemed now that had finally silenced the critics. He found his remote, and was all set to get back to the lecture.

 **"WHAT?"**

The room exploded into chaos. Every person with the media was screaming at the top of their lungs. Several were pressing against the stage, fighting amongst themselves to get closer to the professor. The Poke-professor froze in terror. How could his educational venture have turned into such a mess? One brave reporter jumped on the stage. "Okay all of you hold it. Shut up! Stop!" The room quieted a little. "Okay Professor, level with us. Who is this person that's seen more Legendaries than anyone in all of history?" He held up a microphone into Oak's face.

"Now cut that out." Oak pushed the microphone out of the way. "We don't know if they the only person to have ever met so many Legendaries. There could be others; they are just the only one I know. You could argue they are the most recorded trainer, but we can't be sure that there have not been more interactions between Legendaries. I doubt it, but we have no evidence that could refute that."

One of the reporters pressed up against the stage couldn't hold it in anymore. "But who is this person Professor?"

Oak gave up. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the headache he could feel coming on. "I can't reveal a trainer's name as that would break their confidence in me. They want to be famous for their own accomplishments. They didn't give me this information for his own gain, but to help a friend."

Dr. Namba wasn't done yet. "Well how do we know that this source is trustworthy then Oak?"

"Of course they are trustworthy! They are my grandson's best friend!" Oak paled when he realized what he'd done. The room exploded into turmoil again.

* * *

Dr. Namba struggled against the crowd, elbowing those who couldn't get out of the way. He ran out of the conference hall as he got clear of the people. He headed straight for the phone booths at the end of the hallway. He dialed furiously, tapping his foot while he waited for the call to connect.

"What?" An irritated voice answered.

"Sir, it's Dr. Number, er Namba. I have just found our newest secret weapon." The professor tried to get out in his excitement. "Not only is the media attention off the Genesect project, but there is someone that could lead us to every other Legendary in existence!"

"Who?" The voice on the line deepened, and the villainous doctor could hear a Persian purring in the background.

"Well, that's just it. I don't know who sir." The doctor hurried on when he heard a growl, and it wasn't from the Persian. "But Professor Oak does, and he's let slip that it's someone close to his grandson."

"Find out who immediately doctor. And doctor? Don't fail me or I'll feed you to a horde of Houndooms." The line went dead, and Namba had gone so white he looked like death warmed over.


	2. Professor Oak Calls In A Few Favors

Chapter 2-The Professor Calls In A Few Favors

After the disastrous lecture, Oak left to make some phone calls. First he talked to his grandson Gary. He explained about the cancellation of the discussion, which Gary was very disappointed at. Once his grandson had decided to become a researcher, he often worked as the Professor's leg man. While Oak compiled the data, Gary went out to observe and record data on Pokémon. His skills as a trainer kept him safe, and gave the Professor a different perspective on the interactions between people and Pokémon.

When Ash had related the story about the Genesect in New Tork City, it was Gary that went out to observe the new Legendaries in their new home. For the moment, only six people knew where the Genesect had built a nest: Professor Oak, Gary Oak, and the people that had shared Ash's adventures in the large city. Oak had carefully orchestrated the failed lecture as way to introduce the Pokémon to society slowly. Ash had stressed that while the new bug/steel types weren't blasting everything that came upon their paths anymore, they were still very paranoid. Guess being used in evil experiments could do that.

Professor Oak sighed while hanging up the phone. He wanted this whole mess with the Genesect solved already. He was much more interested with the psychic Pokémon who had stood between the rampaging bug/steel types and utter destruction. Ash was positive that the mysterious savior was a new Mewtwo, and a girl at that. She if it was a she also seemed to have a second form like the Genesect. Once he had more data, he fully intended to talk with Professor Sycamore about the newest evidence of Pokémon Mega Evolution. Oak was glad that the first Mewtwo Ash had met couldn't Mega Evolve. That psychic type was powerful enough, if Ash's adventure at Mt. Quena was to be believed. Wiping out a whole squad of Team Rocket's memories reveals a scary amount of power.

This new Mewtwo seemed quite friendly with other Pokémon. What's more she wasn't as hostile to humans like the previous Mewtwo Ash had met. The trainer had been quite proud that by the end of the adventure, the psychic was willing to call him by name. Leave it to Ash to befriend another human hating psychic type. Oak amended that thought. Leave it to Ash to stop and befriend any human hating Pokémon that crossed his path. Sometimes Oak had to wonder if there was some truth to that Shamouti prophecy…

Oak shook his head in disgust. He needed to focus on the here and now, and leave the mythology to Professor Juniper. What should he do about this whole mess? If those media personal where to run ram shod over him, a well-known researcher, then they would tear apart Ash Ketchum. However, if he did nothing then they would find the trainer anyway, but without his protection. So who could he trust with Ash's secret, but also keep the swarming Growlithes at bay? Then the answer hit him like a stampeding Tauros. For the first time since the fiasco, the Professor grinned. A few dial tones later, and one of his oldest friends picked up.

"Hello! McClain speaking." A strong male voice came out over the phone.

"Derek? Derek McClain?" Oak wanted to verify it was his friend, before he made another slip.

"You called me!" Oak had to laugh. Derek fell this gag every time. "Oak you old Arbok in the grass did you want to gab, or should I go ahead and hang up?"

Oak stopped laughing. He could always rib the man later, better not to rile him up before asking a favor. "I have a proposition for you McClain. How would you like an exclusive with person the whole media wants a piece of?"

Now the man just sounded skeptical. "You mean your mysterious source? Why would you give up such a valuable resource to a no-name channel like Pokéworld? The only show that gets any rating is our news program."

"Which is run by your daughter if I remember." Oak could practically see his friend puffing up in pride, even from all the way in Saffron city.

"Of course!" The proud papa claimed. "Go Go Porygon! is a major hit. Roxy works hard to provide interesting news from all over the world. Anytime she interviews adventurers like Kidd Summers for example, our ratings go through the roof."

Oak couldn't resist another jibe. "Which means all five people that watch got their money's worth."

"Hah-hah. You certainly know how to hit below the belt there Oak." The man on the other end grumbled.

Oak scratched the back of his neck in awkwardness. He hadn't meant to hurt the guy's feelings. "Ah, sorry about that, however I might know a way to fix that. How hard would it be to set up a broadcasting set on my property starring the trainer the whole world wants to meet?"

"What's the catch?" McClain grumbled. The deal sounded too good, for there not to be some sort of trap in the fine print.

"You don't invade the kid's privacy. His home life is off limits, unless he invites you in. If there's something he doesn't want to talk about, then don't press it. If other stations want in, they can piggyback off your station. For a fee of course." Oak needed his friend to agree to this. Ash's right to privacy depended on this.

"Of course." Great, his friend seemed amused. "So the trainer who is the 'he' that has spotted more Legendaries than anyone else alive? One of your snot-nosed brats with dreams of being a Pokémon master?"

Ouch. McClain wasn't a former news hound for nothing, and his daughter had blossomed under his tutelage. He should've known that the guy would pounce on any hint he let slip. "Yes. 15 going on 16, and I don't want this ruining his career. He's a very promising Pokémon trainer, and after this whole broadcast is over I want him to be able to continue his journey without an entourage."

McClain on the other end sighed. "I don't know if that's possible Oak. Every reporter in the world wants a piece of the action. I'm not sure there is a normal after this. His every move will be watched, if not by the media, then by the G-men."

"Lance is an honorable man. I trust him to keep his distance." Oak reassured his friend, before moving the conversation back on track. "That's only one of my conditions McClain. Only your crew is allowed to interview my source. If anyone wants to air the broadcast, then they follow these rules: 1) Any requests for interviews come to me first. 2) Outside of interviews they leave my source alone. And 3) If they fail to follow these rules then they lose all possible future interviews. Plus I will persecute to the fullest extent of the law for infringing upon the rights of a minor. When he's older I will sue for slander, stalking, and invasion of privacy."

"Uh-oh. Papa lion is coming out. Down boy, sheathe those claws, and I'll behave I promise." McClain laughed, while Oak blushed. "I get it Oak. You want the kid protected. I'll do my best. Now when can we start? How did you meet? And most important what's his name?"

* * *

Ash Ketchum stretched, boy was he glad to be off that cramped plane. Coming home was great, but the traveling could be murder.

"Pika? Pikachu." Ash's yellow friend tilted his head to one side. Ash took that to mean he was worried if his trainer was alright.

"It's fine buddy. Just a little sore. That flight seemed to take forever." Pikachu nodded in agreement, and jumped onto his perch on Ash's shoulder. "We've got some time until our connecting flight. Shall we grab a snack, and check on everybody at home?"

Pikachu nuzzled his trainer in response, and they walked towards the videophones in the airport's main terminal. There was a bit of a line, so the duo decided to grab some grub first. A protein bar for Ash, an apple for Pikachu, and one ketchup packet for a reward for his partner later. While grabbing the food, he noticed a T.V. hanging by the tables for customers. Two reporters were arguing on screen. The arguing looked quite heated. He couldn't hear their voices, but a caption at the bottom of the screen read 'Mysterious Legendary Source: What Oak Doesn't Want The World To Know'.

"What do you think that means Pikachu? Pikachu?" His little buddy wasn't on his shoulder. Where? Oh no. A certain lightning shaped tail was sticking up from a pile of ketchup packets. "Pikachu!" The yellow Pokémon unearthed itself from the pile, a packet in its mouth. "Buddy you know that those are supposed to be a treat, not a whole meal." The trainer could hear a muffled "pikapi" and a few other words he couldn't quite understand. "Forget it, and drop the ketchup now." Pikachu shook his head in denial, and dashed out of the shop. "PIKACHU!"

Ash ran out of the shop, forgetting that he still had unpaid merchandise in his arms. He was so focused on his Pokémon, that he didn't even hear the shop keeper yelling after him. After a high speed chase, Ash was closing in on Pikachu. He dropped the food, and jumped. One flying tackle later, he managed to pry the packet out his partner's teeth. Just in time for security personal to escort them back to the shop.

Once they paid, and then apologized they were free to go. Ash carried a pouting Pikachu back to the phone booths. He called his mother first, and was quite perplexed when she told him to call Professor Oak. Before he could ask why, she had hung up. What was eating at his mother? Was one of his Pokémon sick? Was the Poké Professor sick? Or Gary? Wait was that last one necessarily a bad thing?

Ash shook his head, and dialed the Oak's residence. Two rings and a very snotty voice answered the phone. "Yeah?" The video popped up, and yep the face of Ash's first rival appeared. "Oh, Ashie boy. You ready to start cleaning up the problems you've caused all of us?"

"Me?" Ash said astounded. "What could I have done? I haven't even been on the same continent!"

"Excuses." Gary sneered. "And next time you run into a Legendary, mention if they have any long distance attacks. That red one almost took my head off."

Ash crossed his arms and glared. Pikachu copied him, sparks flying from his cheeks. "What part of hates human, extremely powerful, and paranoid doesn't scream to take precautions?"

"Whatever." Gary shrugged, which infuriated the duo more. "Gramps wanted to talk to you. Think you can handle staying on the line for a minute Ashie boy?" Gary left, calling for his grandpa. Ash and Pikachu finally relaxed. A few moments later the elder of the Oak family got on the line.

"Ash?" The professor looked pretty haggard. Pikachu noticed too, and jumped back onto his perch on Ash's shoulders. This didn't look too good. "Ah good. Listen Ash I need you to come home. There's trouble brewing, and I need you here in person."

Ash tilted his head to one side in confusion. "I was heading home anyway Professor, so that's not a problem, but what's going on?"

The professor pinched his nose. "It was my fault. I let slip some hints that you were the one that has provided a lot of my data on Legendary Pokémon."

"Chu pi pika a Pikachu?" The yellow Pokémon asked the professor.

"Yeah I'm with him. How is that a problem Professor?" Ash had never exactly kept it a secret that he collected data for both of the Oak researchers. All of his friends knew, heck most of his rivals had commented on it once or twice.

Professor Oak sighed. "I'm not sure what the big deal is either. It's not like most of the Legendaries weren't covered in the media, because let's face it that they only show up when the world is about to end." Ash and Pikachu nodded. "However, the media is in a frenzy about this whole hullabaloo. I have a friend that will run damage control, and he wants to send his daughter and a camera crew to meet you. Now no other members of the media know who you are yet, but they will once this broadcast gets out there. I have it on good authority that several media stations will be piggybacking off of it, but the only crew that comes to Pallet Town is from my friend McClain."

Pikachu and Ash looked at each other, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Pikachu gestured for his friend to talk. The professor certainly couldn't understand him like his trainer could. "Okay" Ash started hesitantly. "What do you want us to do about it then?"

"I need to cash in a few favors from you. I want you to show McClain's crew around Pallet Town. Bring them over to the ranch. Introduce them to some of the Pokémon. Answer their questions, but I made it clear that if you don't want to talk about something then they back off. Hopefully this will calm down the media, and then we can all get back to normal around here."

Ash felt his stomach drop, and he could feel the tension in his partner too. He didn't have a good feeling about all of this.

* * *

 _Phew, another chapter done. I really felt the episode about Porygon in season 1 of the anime got the short end of the stick. So I really wanted to find a way to give Porygon some screen time in this fic. I asked a friend for some advice on the name for my reporter, and when I came up with the name Roxy McClain he told me it sounded like an exotic dancer. *Laughs* Some friend huh?_


	3. Ash meets Roxy

_Hello there! Now we get to the interesting parts. I've got a new beta, Tbroome535. So you all might be seeing some newly edited chapters soon. I've also changed around some chapters, including adding some of the questions Roxy might ask by the time this interview is over._

Chapter 3 Ash Meets Roxy, Or Where Roxy Blows Off The Person She Came To Interview

Roxy was pumped. No, she was beyond pumped to finally be here. She was almost bouncing in her seat from excitement, no wait she needed to calm down. She took in a deep breath, and released it slowly. She couldn't act like an immature kid when she was conducting the interview of the century. She glanced over at her cameraman sitting next to her. Randy was smirking, but the twinkle she saw in his eyes told her he knew exactly what she was thinking. Mister silent had this infuriating habit of never embarrassing her in public, but when it was just the two of them (although sometimes in front of her dad) he never failed to tease her. Oh well, good minions were hard to come by even if they were impertinent.

Randy had moved closer while she was mentally rambling. "No one would consent to being a minion Ro, not even for world famous reporters." He whispered in her ear. Then he nonchalantly opened a magazine, like he had never said a blasted thing! How did he even do that? It was like he could read her mind. Gah, he was so infuriating. Like the omniscient big brother she never wanted. She would show him. Roxy fingered the Pokéball that sometimes housed her partner, too bad she couldn't sic the Pokémon on the irritating man. Porygon didn't really like his Pokéball for some strange reason. He would pout for days if forced to go inside. When Roxy had to travel, she usually let him surf the web and meet them at the airport terminal. Randy still jumped when the digital Pokémon popped out of computer servers. Then he would lecture her on not taking her responsibilities of a trainer seriously. He was her underling, and he still treated her like some ignorant kid. She was 17 for crying out loud. One day Pokéworld would be most famous television channel in all the regions. Her news program GO GO PORYGON! would be broadcasted in every household. Pretty soon she would have people begging to work under her, and she would rub Randy's face in it.

Safely encased in her imagination, she almost missed the announcement for everyone to return to their seats. Once safely buckled, it wasn't long until the plane touched down in Viridian City. Her father had told the crew that Dr. Oak had sent someone to pick them from the terminal. Once at the lab, they could finally meet the Poké Prof's mysterious source. Roxy couldn't wait.

As soon as they picked up their belongings from baggage claim Roxy urged Randy to get out his camera. Roxy wanted as many camera shots as possible of this historic moment. Her father could always edit the unnecessary stuff later. Randy sighed, but did as she asked. Roxy pulled her portable microphone, and waited for Randy to give her the 3 second countdown to ShowTime.

"Hello! Welcome to a special edition of GO GO PORYGON! I'm your host Roxy McClain, and you are tuned into the interview of a lifetime. Today we are going to meet the mysterious person who's thrown the Pokéworld into a tizzy, Professor Oak's mysterious…"Roxy was interrupted when a hand came out of nowhere to tap her on the shoulder. Roxy whirled around.

"Excuse me, but are you all the T.V. crew heading out to Professor Oak's?" A young kid with a baseball cap asked. Roxy was not impressed. He wore baggy jeans, some sort of blue hoodie, scuffed up shoes, and bright red Pokémon League cap. A Pikachu hung off the kid's shoulder, like a bright yellow scarf. He didn't look any older than 13. He must be the Professor's errand boy.

"Yeah, who wants to know?" Roxy told him in the haughtiest voice she could muster. The kid only smiled her. Who was this punk to ruin her perfect introduction? Conveniently forgetting she could just tape another one.

The kid hiked a thumb at his mouse like Pokémon. "This is Pikachu, and I'm…"

Roxy held up a hand to cut him off. "Don't care. You must be here to help with the baggage. Just point us towards the car." What kind of an idiot introduced a Pokémon before himself anyway?

The kid frowned, and she almost could swear she saw electricity sparking by the yellow rodent's cheeks. "Yeah, not going to happen. I've got my own luggage to carry, and it's a long walk to Pallet Town off route one."

"What do you mean a long walk…, Roxy never go to finish her thought, because a bright light suddenly filled the terminal. With a victorious squeal her partner Pokémon popped out of the airport's digital servers. He made himself solid, and flew over to his trainer. He made a few circuits above her head, before settling to hover right over her hair. Roxy grinned, it was always good to have her partner back.

The unnamed kid was staring at her Pokémon. Roxy had expected to see awe, surprise, or confusion upon on his face. Not many people knew that the virtual Pokémon even existed, but he was the greatest partner an aspiring reporter could hope for. Porygon could download himself straight into the internet, instantly pulling data together from various sources. He could also hack into just about anything, well except league resources. Their firewalls were too good, but anything else Porygon could get into. It made finding exciting news stories so much easier. Roxy had expected the punk sent to get her to become flustered at Porygon's flashy entrance, or to at least ask her what kind of Pokémon he was. Instead, the kid's expression seemed serious, his brown eyes seeming to glow with an inner fire.

"Ah-hah. I remember!" Roxy jumped when the kid suddenly shouted. He pointed an accusing finger at her partner. "It's Team Rocket's Porygon!"

The kid's electric rodent copied its trainer. "Pi Pika Chaa Pikachu!" The yellow Pokémon then flung itself off the kid's shoulder. It took a defensive stance in front of its trainer, and began sparking.

Porygon quickly flew into her arms. He tried to hide, and Roxy was too shocked to really comfort him. "Ho-ww?" She managed to stammer out, her face unnaturally pale. No one should've known about Porygon's past.

The kid grimaced. "You can't fool me. I would recognize that zero symbol on its forehead anywhere. It looks just like the Porygon that was helping to steal Pokémon from the Pokécenter! You're in league with Team Rocket!"

Roxy backed up when the electricity surrounding the yellow mouse glowed even brighter. It was going to attack if she didn't do something. She looked back at Randy, and the jerk was filming the whole thing. Traitor! "No wait, he's not bad anymore. They abandoned him!"

The Pikachu and trainer looked a little less suspicious. Porygon popped his head out, and squeaked something to the other Pokémon. When he finished listening, the yellow rodent relaxed. He turned back to his trainer, and they seemingly had a conversation. Only after did the kid relax. He smiled sheepishly, and scratched his cheek. His Pokémon copied him. Was it a Pikachu or a Mr. Mime in disguise? "Oh." He told her.

"Oh." She sneered back. She crossed her arms, and took a more aggressive stance. Time to put this punk in his place. "How would a kid like you know about that anyway?"

His partner jumped back on its trainer shoulder. "We helped Dr. Akihabara out. You know the weird guy with the swirly glasses? Well me, Brock, Misty, and our Pokémon of course. He had this strange do-hickey that could put people in the internet. He used it on us. Next thing we knew that there was this strange blue light that broke us up, and then we were in this black void."

Roxy was skeptical. "You let a scientist use some sort of weird do-hickey to put you into the internet?"

"He didn't tell us that what it was! We were just following one of his holograms, because we wanted to know what was messing up the Pokéball Transfer System. He trapped us!" His Pikachu nodded in agreement. "It was a good thing he loaned us this other Porygon. It grew humongous, big enough that we all could fit on it. It was the only way we could have gotten around in there. Hey, did you know that Porygon can use conversion?"

"Yeah. It allows for Porygon to change to its opponent's type." She pointed to the Porygon still hiding in her arms. "He can't use it yet, because he was just the prototype." She heard a distressed squeal from her arms. "Well maybe someday he could use it, and some of the moves for Porygon 2 and 3. It will take a lot of work though."

The kid smiled. "Of course he could. Anyways, we followed the data traffic of the Pokécenter to a block set up by Team Rocket. They attacked, and we let that Porygon and the one Dr. Akihabara fight it out. Which gave the rest of us the opportunity to return all the stolen data back to the data stream. Team Rocket tried to fight back, but Pikachu blew them away. It would have gone without a hitch if Nurse Joy hadn't sent for a vaccine program. It treated us all like we were viruses. It blew up your Porygon, causing it to faint. We actually had to pick up those troublemakers, and hightail it out of there. The vaccine program threw out another attack, and Pikachu tried to counter. He uh didn't get all of it, and the resulting explosion blew all of us back into the portal. It may or may not have caused all the equipment in Dr. Akihabara's house to explode too."

Roxy looked down at Porygon. "Is this true?" The CG Pokémon wiggled out of her arms. He circled around the strange kid, making squeals. She guessed he was verifying the story. Maybe. She looked at the kid who was holding out an arm for her partner to land on.

"So you've changed huh?" The Porygon squealed again. The kid petted him, and the Pokémon practically purred in happiness. Even the kid's Pikachu was embracing the pink Pokémon.

Roxy was a little jealous, but mostly embarrassed. How dare this punk reveal her partner's dubious past on camera? Then petted her Pokémon like it was his best friend. She grabbed Porygon's Pokéball. "Porygon return." Her partner disappeared into a stream of red light. Like it or not, Porygon was going to rest in his Pokéball for a while. The kid looked disappointed when his newest playmate disappeared. Not that she cared. Roxy had just about enough of this kid. "So you're here to show us to the car right? Well go on." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Sorry, there's no car." The kid scratched his cheek. "Like I said, it's a bit of a walk along route one. We should get going if we want to make it there before dark." The kid turned to talk to Randy, who had put down the camera once Porygon was returned. Roxy was frozen in shock. Walk to a whole other city, was the kid crazy? How could a famous professor like Oak not have a car? She was wearing brand new boots. Not only were they not broken in, but all that dust and muck would ruin them!

Roxy didn't snap out of it until the kid and Randy hailed her from the doors of the airport. "Hey, miss junior reporter are you coming?" She walked right past the annoying males, her nose high in the air. "Wrong way." She was blushing when she did an about face, but she refused to talk to either of her companions. Every once in a while the kid would redirect her. She followed the advice, but didn't say another word to him. Randy the traitor talked to the kid instead.

Ash was having a very weird day. It started out with an impromptu chase through an airport. Then a conversation with a stressed out mother, and an even more stressed out Professor Oak. He had agreed to show a T.V. crew around the Poké Prof's ranch, and answer a few questions about some of the Legendaries he'd seen on his journey. He caught the next connecting flight to Viridian, and settled into waiting for the crew from some news channel, Poké something? Professor Oak had said it shouldn't take more than 2 or 3 hours. Ash couldn't wait to just get home already.

He stretched, and took a quick peek at his buddy. Pikachu was yawning in his lab, the Pokémon wasn't used to staying still for so long. "Looking forward to making it back home?" He asked while petting right under Pikachu's right ear. That was his favorite spot. His partner would've purred if he was a Meowth or Persian.

"Piiii." His buddy told him while leaning into the scratch. Ash translated that to be an elongated yes. Ash scratched a little harder, and Pikachu contributed by flipping onto his back. All the easier for the trainer to give his best friend a thorough rub down. Soon enough the Pokémon was asleep, and Ash was considering a nap for himself. He set the alarm on his newest Pokédex, and made sure to tuck his bag in such a way that it would be tough for thieves to get it without waking him. Not that it was easy to sneak up on him anymore, just one of the few perks after the whole Cameron thing. Ash settled in, and soon began to snore.

It only felt like a few minutes had passed when he heard the annoying chimes. Ash blinked awake. He stretched carefully, so as not to throw off his partner. Too many times that ended with an electric wake up call. "Hey buddy, time to get up." One ear twitched, meaning he was becoming more conscious. It would be safe to touch now. He poked the Pokémon in the side. "Wakey-wakey eggs and bakey." The mention of food seemed to perk his partner right up. The yellow mouse sat up, and waved to his trainer. "All right sleepy head, time to go pick up our guests. Ready?" Pikachu nodded, and jumped onto his shoulder. One good morning nuzzle, and they were ready to find the T.V. crew.

Ash checked the boards for arrival and departure times. He found the right gate, and stood by the baggage claim area for flight 452 arriving from Saffron city. While he was waiting, he reviewed the plan he and Professor Oak had discussed. Pick up the T.V. crew, get them to Pallet Town, set them up at his house until some space opened up at the laboratory, show them around the ranch, answer a few questions, and soon enough they would leave. Then he could get some R&R, and think about what he wanted to do next. He turned to his partner. "How long do you think the T.V. crew will stick around?" He could feel Pikachu shrug like he wasn't sure, but the Pokémon held up two digits. "Two days huh? Shouldn't be too bad." The duo couldn't discuss more, since people were start to flood the baggage area.

Ash kept an eye out for anyone carrying a T.V. camera. He didn't spot anyone though. He felt a paw against his cheek. "Pikapi!" He recognized his partner trying to get his attention. He looked at his Pokémon's outstretched claw. There. A young woman with red hair talking with a guy with a camera on his shoulder. That must be them. He gave Pikachu an affectionate scratch in thanks, and moved towards the crew. As he got closer, he got a better look at his guests. The girl couldn't have been much older than him. She had bright red hair that hung down to her shoulders. She was dressed in a mix of red and pink, with shiny black boots that almost reached her knees. Ash thought that they looked restrictive and uncomfortable. He turned towards the guy. He was clearly in his twenties. He had long brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail. He was dressed better for a journey; comfortable dark jeans, mossy green t-shirt, and hiking boots.

The girl had her back to Ash, so he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention. She whirled on him, and she glared at him with fiery ruby red eyes. Belatedly, Ash noticed she had a microphone in hand. They must have been putting something together for the broadcast. Oops. Well, better get to business before she exploded. He knew how hot tempers flared with red heads. "Excuse me, but are you all the T.V. crew heading out to Professor Oak's?"

The unnamed red head seemed to be just as temperamental as Ash thought. She barely let him get in a word edgewise. He tried to introduce Pikachu and himself, but she cut him off. Rude. She told them to pick up her bags, and yeah that so was not happening. He was still lugging around all his equipment from Unova, he did not need anything extra weighing him down. Thank Arceus for the invention of capsule devices. Not only were there products like Pokéballs to shrink down living things, but other capsule products shrunk down camping equipment, fridges, and his Pokémon training equipment. Without those capsule, Ash wouldn't even be able to carry around all the underwear his mom stuffed in his pack each time he left on a journey.

Ash frowned and looked the bossy girl straight in the eye. She had nothing on intimidation compared to Misty anyway. "Yeah, not gonna happen. I've got my own luggage to carry, and it's a long walk to Pallet Town off route one." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the camera guy give a nod of approval. At least of these guys seemed decent enough. Ash glanced at his partner, and could see the glow of sparks coming from Pikachu's cheeks. If he didn't find a way to distract his partner, the bossy girl was going to get one heck of a shocking welcome. Luckily, or unluckily depending on your perspective a white glow filled the airport terminal.

A pink shape flew out of a digital advertisements scattered around the airport. Ash didn't recognize that the pink thing was a Pokémon at first. Then he spotted the faint zero on the Porygon's forehead. It had been a few years since the incident, it was hard to forget being downloaded into the internet. If this was the same Pokémon, then these guys must be associated with Team Rocket! He didn't even need to tell his best buddy about his discovery. By the tensing of muscles, he knew his partner had recognized the bad Pokémon too. Ash wasn't the least surprised when Pikachu leapt off his shoulder, and took a defensive position. Ash got ready to give some orders, as soon as he saw the least bit of aggression.

Instead of immediately attacking after having their cover blown, the Team Rocket members backed away. The Porygon hid in the girl's arm, instead of attacking like the last time they had met. The girl tried to defend the Pokémon, and eventually the Porygon gathered enough courage to face them directly. The red head claimed the Porygon had changed, but Ash didn't relax until Pikachu gave the okay. His partner had talked to the CG Pokémon, and seemed to believe it wasn't bad anymore. Now that Ash thought about it, he had never seen that Porygon again after they accidently blew up Dr. Akihabara's home. So maybe, these guys weren't with Team Rocket. He would still keep an eye on them though. No way was he leading a bunch of bad guys around Professor Oak's home. He was glad they were staying at his place, until he could and the Professor could verify who these guys are.

The red head in the meantime had gotten over her shock. She was now questioning how he knew about her (partner maybe?) Pokémon's less than glorious past. Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder, and they exchanged a look. While Ash had never bragged about the adventure, he didn't think it would be dangerous to talk about either. Pikachu didn't protest, so Ash told them about finding out about the glitch in the Pokémon Transfer System from Nurse Joy in Matcha city. Then following the suspicious professor to his laboratory home, and being tricked into getting digitalized.

The red-head didn't seem to believe him, because she was practically sneering at them when she asked any questions. "You let a scientist use some sort of weird do-hickey to put you into the internet?"

Ash stiffened at that, and so did Pikachu. "He didn't tell us that what it was! We were just following one of his holograms, because we wanted to know what was messing up the Pokéball Transfer System. He trapped us!" He looked to his buddy, and got an agreeing nod. At least somebody believed him. Ash continued the story. He talked about how helpful Porygon's conversion ability became in the internet, the confrontation with Team Rocket, the running away from the anti-viral program that Nurse Joy sent, barely being able to save themselves and the group of trouble makers, and the explosion that ruined all of Dr. Akihabara's work. At least all the Pokémon and people got out safe. When Ash finished, the red head looked angrier than ever. What was her problem anyway? She even asked her Porygon if his story was true. The nerve! These were the people sent to interview him?

Ash was about ready to leave, but he changed his mind when the former Team Rocket member floated over. "So you've changed huh?" Ash asked the pink Pokémon. Porygon called out, and fluttered around anxiously. It seemed apologetic enough. Ash held out an arm, and the Pokémon landed. Ash petted him/it, and the Pokémon leaned into the touch. Pikachu leaned over to give him a few approving pats. Okay, the little guy was kinda cute. Ash was so into it, he was surprised when the red head forced the Pokémon to return to its Pokéball.

Ash turned to look at the girl standing with her hands on her hips. "So you're here to show us to the car right? Well go on." She waved her hand dismissively. Did the girl not hear him about the whole walking thing? He guessed that he should give her the benefit of the doubt, if they could turn a bad Pokémon into that friendly creature, then surely they couldn't be that bad right?

"Sorry, there's no car." Ash scratched his cheek absentmindly, thinking of the logistics of their journey. "Like I said, it's a bit of a walk along route one. We should get going if we want to make it there before dark." He turned towards the camera guy. He was a little shocked to see the guy had been taping the whole time. Maybe they would edit out the arguing stuff later? Ash shook his head, and held out a hand for the camera guy to shake. "Hi there! The name's Ash Ketchum!"

Only after Ash introduced himself did the camera man put down the camera. The older man then clasped his hand warmly. "I'm Randal Major, but my friends call me Randy." Then the guy pointed over at the frozen red head. "The brat is Roxy McClain. She's the anchorwoman for our show GO GO Porygon! I run the camera, although sometimes we put a camera around Porygon's neck for action shots. Since he can hover, he can get a lot closer to some shots than we can. Mr. Derek McClain, Roxy's dad, is our chief and editor. He'll be the one putting our shots together, and trashing the unnecessary stuff."

Ash cocked his head to one side. So the red head was Roxy, and this guy was Randy.

"Who's Porygon's trainer then?"

Randy smiled. "After the incident," Ash blinked when the older guy made the gesture for air quotes, "Dr. Akihabara thought that his Porygon Prototype needed a little more guidance than he'd been able to give. He's a close friend with Dr. McClain, and knew that he was one of the few people that could utilize Porygon's abilities without exploiting them. Roxy had never left for a journey, or taken a Pokémon before. She had always wanted to be a reporter, and thought a Pokémon would only get in the way. However, when she saw what Porygon could do in the internet, she decided to become his trainer. Porygon pulls together unclassified data, and then Roxy heads out to verify it. It's been a good partnership for them both."

Ash turned to look at the still frozen girl. Partnership huh? While definitely an improvement over Team Rocket, Ash didn't think Porygon was getting everything he needed. He had practically melted with the least bit of affection. Was he not getting enough of that from Roxy? Randy shook him out of his thoughts by placing a hand on his shoulder. It was time to go, plenty of time to see how their friendship worked later. Ash asked if Randy needed any help, after all he was carrying the really heavy stuff. Randy smiled, but told him no. All Randy was a backpack, and his camera bag. They headed over to the airport's exit, but Roxy wasn't following them.

Ash cupped his hands together. "Hey, miss junior reporter are you coming?" That snapped the girl out of whatever she was doing. He could hear Pikachu snigger when the girl almost forgot her wheeling suit case. Why didn't she just use capsules for her clothes, instead of that heavy looking thing? Roxy walked right past them, without acknowledging them. She made a left turn, and was heading towards the city. "Wrong way." He told her, and tried not to laugh when he saw her blush. The three of them made a right turn, and headed towards the forest.

Roxy was pointedly not talking to them, but Ash didn't really care. He talked to Randy instead while the man was mounting his video camera on his shoulder again. Was he planning to film the whole walk to Pallet Town? "Where are you all from?" Pikachu perked up on his shoulder. He was curious too.

"Saffron City," Randy told them. "The two of us are a part of a brand new channel called Pokéworld. We have a few comedies, dramas, but our real bread and butter comes from our news channel. Roxy pulls together programs detailing news from all over the world. Anything to gossip on the best Coordinators, projections on who will win the latest Pokémon League, and even interviews with Gym Leaders. You know what kind of Pokémon they have, their strategies, and so on. She's even interviewed some of the Kanto Frontier Brains. Brandon declined, but a few of the other Brains said yes. The more popular we become, the more celebrities we can interview. We're expecting a big boost in ratings after we got this huge scoop though."

"Scoop?" Ash parroted.

Randy glanced at him, and smiled. "Yeah, Mr. McClain pulled a few strings and got us the scoop of the century! We're the first ones to interview the Pokémon Prof's secret source. Broadcasters from all over are going to be piggy backing off our feed. It's gonna bring in some great publicity."

Ash and Pikachu laughed. "Oh, come on. This whole source thing can't be that important."

Randy shook his head. "Yes it really is. There hasn't been this media attention since the whole Zoark incident." Randy didn't miss the way Ash shuddered at that reference. Weird, it was almost like the kid had some bad memory of that event. "And before that the whole Shamouti Flooding thing." Okay, he was sure the kid had definitely shuddered at that. Did the kid have some sort of inside information?

Ash was downright panicking now. This whole thing suddenly seemed a lot bigger than he thought. "But, do you know who this source is? What if he's a nobody?"

Randy shook his head. "Well, if he was a nobody before, he won't be after this. All we know for sure is, we're supposed to meet him at Professor Oak's ranch." Randy watched as Ash suddenly relaxed. How suspicious.

"Hey, Ash…" Randy paused a moment to consider his phrasing. He also checked to make sure he that little red light indicator was still blinking, he didn't want to miss any of this footage. "Since you're from Pallet Town, you must know Professor Oak pretty well." The kid and his Pikachu nodded. "Do you know who Professor Oak's mysterious source is?"

Their guide scratched his cheek, and Randy was pretty sure that his Pokémon was sniggering at his trainer's discomfort. "Yeah…," Ash began hesitantly, "I know him." Randy pondered this for a moment. So the source was a him? Someone close to Oak? Someone that traveled a lot? A male Pokémon trainer? Someone Oak had already built a relationship with, and was trusted with the trainer's secrets? But who? Oak had already said it wasn't his grandson, but a close friend. Randy looked at Ash for a moment, and smiled. Ash still wasn't looking at him, but that just verified Randy's suspicions. His eyes lit up with mischief, oh how he could use this?

By this time the trio had just made it to the Viridian Forest. Roxy was clearly nervous. She kept glancing side to side, not used to trekking through the wilderness. Most of her interviews were conducted indoors. Randy could see her muttering to herself, and he knew just the way he could take advantage of both teenager's discomfort. "Hey Roxy!" He called out to the girl. She turned towards the males, her peak temporarily forgotten. "Along the way, do you want to practice some interview questions?"

Sure enough her temper returned with a vengeance. "Well, I guess I should get some practice in. Since somebody," she glared at Ash, "interrupted our introduction." She turned away, and pulled her bag along with her. This time she was ignoring them out of distraction, rather than anger. Randy smirked, this would also be a good distraction from Roxy's fear of bug Pokémon. "I guess my first question would have to be how did Oak's source come across so many Legendaries? Is he a researcher? Did he set out to find them? Or did they come to them on their own?"

Ash was muttering to himself, but Roxy didn't catch on that he was answering her questions. "The more you travel, the greater the likelihood of meeting one. Also if there's any world threatening disaster you're almost certain to find one."

Roxy didn't hear, and continued to prattle on. "My second question would be why would he entrust all this valuable info to just Professor Oak? Why not the media, or some of the other Poké researchers?

Randy made sure to record Ash raising one of his eyebrows in skepticism and frowning face. "Who better to give the information to? He's all about finding out how Pokémon and human interact. Plus he doesn't hog all the information. He's worked with several professor all over the world. He gives lectures all the time about his discoveries."

Roxy still hadn't stopped to listen. She was too caught up with her own fantasies about the person she was sent to interview. "Then I would ask them why they thought they kept meeting so many Legendaries? Do they have any secret powers? Or are they just exceptionally adept at figuring out where Legendary Pokémon live?"

Ash turned to look at his partner. Was this girl for real? "It's not like this source is the only one to ever meet a Legendary. There have been lots of people, the media just never bothered to interview the locals. They all wanted to talk to people like Officer Jenny, the mayor, or sometimes the G-men."

Roxy spun around. She ignored Ash, but talked excitedly to Randy. She kept asking questions while walking backwards. Like she was out for an afternoon stroll, instead off in the woods. "Do you think he's met a Celebi? Or a Dragonite? Lugia? What about an Entei?

"Yes. Several. Yes. And no, not a real one anyway." Ash pondered something, before revising his statement. "Okay, I've seen a real one, but didn't actually meet him."

Roxy stopped, her eyes sparkling in excitement. Suddenly she was right in the camera's face. "Do you remember that incident in Machina Town? People say that they Arceus. The real Arceus. Do you think the source met the god Pokémon too?"

This time Roxy was too close not hear Ash's comments. "Yeah, but I would have preferred to meet him when he wasn't about to destroy a whole town. Something about delivering judgment on humans, but really he was just very very angry." Ash got so lost in his memories, that he didn't notice how Roxy and Randy stared at him. It took Pikachu poking him in the cheek to break him out of his trance. He looked up to see Randy had the camera directly pointed at him, and Roxy was staring with her mouth hanging open.

"You...," Roxy was breathing heavily, her body trying to compensate for the breakneck speed her mind was processing at. She pointed a finger at Ash, and then suddenly she was screaming. "YOU'RE PROFESSOR OAK'S SOURCE!"

Ash seemed flummoxed for a second, not sure how to respond. His Pikachu rubbed the back of its head in embarrassment. They exchanged looks, and then they both relaxed. Pikachu smiled at the two other humans, and Ash put his hands in his front pockets. He cocked his head to the side, and smirked. "Yeah. The name is Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, and I'm the guy you've been sent to interview."


	4. Q & A With Roxy

Roxy's Question and Answer Cheat Sheet

 **Question from Tbrome595: What do you think the main food for Pokémon world is? Like where do you think they get things like meat or milk from?**

A- I have a feeling like a lot of people are going to be upset by this answer, but here goes. I do think Pokémon are eaten off screen. We know there are milk farms using Pokémon like Milktank, so I think it's a fair assumption. Plus remember when Pidgeotto tried to eat Caterpie in the Indigo League? So yeah, Pokémon eat other Pokémon too. Sorry. However I think the people in that imaginary world are more humane about it. Like they only take aging Tauros for their steaks and so on. Actually I have this idea about ranchers from the Victini movie, you know the people of the vale, offering to work with Ash's mom to supply her restaurant. They have some interesting traditions about respecting the natural balance of nature, that I think Delia could appreciate.

Question from jmr46718: Since Roxy thought that ash was 12 years old, how about:

Q) How are you so young?

A-Ash would probably say something along the lines that he doesn't understand the question. How can he do anything about his age? You might be able to jump through time with the right Pokémon, but that doesn't really affect how long you've been alive. It might create a time-paradox or something though.

Q) How many people you traveled with and for how long?

A- Um, lots? Brock and Misty have traveled me with the longest. Actually Brock has been there for at least part of almost all of my journeys. He's practically my big brother. Tracy offered to show Misty and I around the Orange Islands. Now he's helping out an Professor Oak's. Then there was May, and then Max blustered his way in. Dawn practically ran over me, before Pikachu fried her bike. Kind of like May and Misty actually. Then I met Cilan and Iris on my last trip. They've all been awesome friends. There have been others that have joined up for smaller amounts of time, or if we had a common goal. Some kids from the brain institute, Ritchie, Lance, Cynthia, N, and well lots of people really.

Q) What was your worst thing to ever happen to you on your journey so far?

A-Um, no comment. It happened a long time ago, and the guy apologized. So let's leave it at that okay.

Q) Why is despite the fact you traveled for many years, only a few of your Pokemon have fully evolved?

A- Hey! It's more than a few. I just don't force my Pokémon to evolve artificially. Some of my best teammates don't even want to evolve. That's their choice…besides…(you'll have to wait for some later chapters. It'll be epic trust me.)

Q) Do you by any chance have a special someone that you enjoy the company of, you know what I mean?

A- Ash tilts his head to the side. I enjoy all my friends, and some I wish I could see more often. Is that what you mean?

 **Questions from Thewanderingmist:**

Q) Did Tobias' use of Legendary Pokémon during the Lily Of The Valley Conference bother you? Or did you see it as just a stronger than usual challenge?

A- Ash scratches his cheek in thought. Not really. It's not the first time I've fought a Legendary. With my luck it'll happen again. So yeah they are always a challenge, but possible. A loss is a loss, no sense dwelling on it forever. Next time we fight I'll be even stronger, Ash grins, but then so will he. I'm actually itching to have a rematch sometime.

Q) You've faced Team Rocket on many occasions, and now rumor has it that you defeated their leader at an unknown location. Do you have any plans to divulge the name or possible whereabouts of said leader?

A- I mean Cynthia knows all about that. I'm sure she's reported to Lance, or one of the G-men. It's not the first time I've clashed the guy, but that time in Unova was the first time we met face to face. His scientist called him Giovanni, but the only other thing I can tell you he has one mean Persian.

 **Question from Great (had to laugh when I saw your name):**

Q) First, what was the first legendary pokemon you saw and when?

A-Well actually the first Legendary I ever saw was on my first day as a trainer. Back then my Pokédex couldn't even identify what it was. I could tell you, but it's kind of a special secret between Pikachu and I. We only saw it after we finally became friends. We saw it again when we were floundering on what our next goal should be. Recently we actually got to meet this Legendary, and it was…amazing. Sorry can't tell you more than that.

Q) What Pokémon would you like to catch next?

A-You know I've never really caught a psychic or dark type. I would kind of love make friends with one some time.

Q) Who was your starter, Charizard right?

A-Lol. Nope. It's actually a funny story, I didn't make it in time to get any of the usual starter Pokémon. Pikachu was the only one he had left, well at least that's what the Professor would like me to believe. However, I now know that the whole thing was a set up.

 **My own questions, to be answered somewhere down the line.**

Q) Why not trade more Pokémon?

A- After trading Butterfree once, I've never repeated the experience but once. And that time I made sure Aipom wanted to go.

Q) How does Ash always know where his Pokémon are?

A- Aura. Ash uses this to help Rioulu in the anime. He gets better with it all the time. Also means Team Rocket will never be able to keep Pikachu, even if they capture him.

Q) Wait how old are you?

A- I'll be turning 16 soon.

Q) Why do you start your whole team over, except for Pikachu? Why not keep just one really strong team?

A- Well that's complicated. I guess a lot of it is that when I'm heading for a brand new adventure, I want to start fresh. Pikachu is my little general. He's my second in command, and my best friend. We go everywhere together. Plus often times several of my friends from the last league want to pursue their own dreams. I also firmly believe that you can't really get to know another place if you don't interact with the region's Pokémon. And the best way to get to know a Pokémon is to train with them. Why wouldn't I want to make some new friends? It's a win-win. Professor Oak keeps my strongest here at the ranch, and I can go out and make some new ones.

Q) What leagues have you competed in?

A- Several. Which one do you want to know about?

Q) Would you ever go back and compete in a league you've already participated in before?

A- I really do like to explore new places, but I don't know. Maybe I should try it. What do you think Pikachu? Yeah, not now, but someday I would like to retry the Kanto league again. I would love to rub it in to Lt. Surge how much my unevolved Pikachu can his Raichu's butt any day.

Q) How many Legendary Pokémon have you met?

A- I don't really know. I've never stopped to count. (Ash scratches cheek.) A lot. Some were just in passing, others were illusions given life, and some I had whole adventures with.

Q) What is the best advice you can give any newbie trainers out there?

A- Be on the lookout for friends. Not just Pokémon, but humans too. I don't know where I'd be without the friends I made along the way.

Q) Which is more important ideals or truth? Who would you want to team up with? Zekrom or Reishram?

A- I'm not sure either is more important than one or the other. I have met people that were influenced by both. A young trainer obsessed with truth, and a man obsessed with bringing his ideals to his valley. Both of the people I met just wanted to make the world a better place, but almost brought destruction to everything they cared about. Their intentions were pure, it's just they put their world view in front of everyone else. They hurt people and Pokémon in pursuit of their world view, and that's where they messed up. The problem with relying on just either truth or ideals is that everyone holds their own. We all have different hopes and dreams. Like I want to be the very best Pokémon master ever! Others want to be doctors, police officers, or Contest Winners like my friend May. My dream isn't any less important than hers. We all have different desires, and we have to be careful not to stomp on other people while we pursue our own. Likewise we share this huge world with millions of Pokémon, and we have to make sure we respect their wellbeing too. The instant we begin thinking the sacrifice of a person or Pokémon is okay in pursuit of what we want, our hope turns from a dream into a nightmare. In the end both men realized their mistakes, even putting their lives on the line to help correct the problem. Thanks to them we stopped the rampaging dragon force, and defeated Team Plasma!

Q) Why does Ash refer to Pokémon before people?

A- He doesn't always. It's just that he sees the two species as equal. A person can have a Pokémon, and a Pokémon can have a trainer. It's just a matter of semantics to Ash.

Q) How many people have you traveled with and for how long?

A- There have been 8 people that have traveled with me through thick and thin. From the best and worst moments, and that I know always has my back. There have been several guests that traveled with us for a short time. Some have even traveled with me for several regions.

Q) What was your worst thing to ever happened on your journey so far?

A- This will tie into the memories Ash has uncovered due to his aura. Pikachu will have a breakdown, and Ash will have to comfort him.

Q) Why is despite the fact you traveled for many years, only a few of your Pokémon have fully evolved?

A- The choice to evolve is theirs. I don't force my Pokémon, and really it's only my first team that was really against evolving.

Q) Do you by any chance have a special someone that you enjoy the company of, you know what I mean?

A- Expect Ash to blush spectacularly for this one. Roxy teases that he's never been kissed, and he lets slip that he has. She then asks how many times? Ash counts, and lets slip about Heroes the 4th movie.


	5. Belated Introductions

Roxy sputtered. "Y-Y-You can't be the source. You're just a kid!"

"I'm almost sixteen!" Ash told her indignantly. Roxy looks perplexed by this news. "Besides, you can't be that much older than me." Ash muttered to himself.

"The source is supposed to be an aspiring Pokémon Master. Or maybe he's a researcher that prefers to stay out of the spot light. Maybe he's a member of the G-men. He supposed to be tall, strong, handsome, and smart. Not like this…" Roxy pointed at Ash.

"Well, at least you got some of it right." He told her, a little put out by the implied put downs. "I am a lot of those things, but not all of them. Sorry."

Randy decided to join in. "If you had been listening Rox, you would've realized he was answering your questions the whole time. So much for the world's best reporter." He looked at the shocked girl, and smirked.

Roxy just knew the jerk had been sitting on the information for a while. She then turned to the supposed source, and glared. He had been holding out on her too. Then Roxy paled as she realized she had insulted the person that every reporter in the world had wanted to interview. What if she couldn't get her interview? She could've ruined the scoop of the century!

While Roxy was busy with her internal debate, Pikachu had perked up on Ash's shoulder. One ear swiveled, then the other, and then both moved in the same direction. Once Pikachu had a fix located the direction, he hopped off his living perch. He circled his trainer once, crying out in excitement. "Pikachu pi pika chu!"

"Really?" Now Ash was the one too excited to stand still. "Well what are we waiting for? Come on!" Pikachu nods, and the duo run further into the forest. Roxy and Randy just stare for a few seconds, and by then the pair are almost out of sight.

"W-w-wait a minute! You can't just leave us behind. We have an interview to conduct!" Roxy called out. The reporter and cameraman ran after the disappearing subjects. Roxy pulled ahead, but then again Randy was carrying all the heavy equipment. Roxy just had to handle her bag, and it had wheels. They would have lost the trainer and Pokémon if they hadn't stopped by some trees a little further ahead. Ash stood a couple of feet off the path, his Pikachu climbing up a tree. Randy was impressed how the critter quickly used its claws to pull itself way above their heads. The question was why the Pokémon doing that in the first place?

Roxy stopped running once she reached Ash. "What is going on? Wh-why would you just take off like that?" She was out of breath, but a quick glance at Ash showed he wasn't breathing hard at all.

Ash turned to grin at them. "An old friend might be stopping by, if Pikachu can flag her down."

"Her?" Roxy was confused. Who lived out in the middle of a forest?

"PIK-A-CHU!" They could hear the electric rodent screaming from way down there at the bottom of the tree. Now Roxy was really confused, did this someone live at the top of a tree? Before she could ask she saw the Pikachu climbing down the tree. The last few feet the Pokémon jumped right into Ash's arms. Either the kid had really good reflexes, or this is something they practiced a lot. "Pi-chu Pika!"

Ash laughed, and patted his partner's head. "That's awesome! Great job buddy. I can't wait to see her again." Pikachu laughed too, and jumped back on Ash's shoulder. Simultaneously they looked towards the sky. Soon a strong wind began to blow, causing the trees in the forest to sway. Roxy and Randy covered their eyes, while a humongous Pokémon descended from above. While the T.V. crew cowered, Ash and Pikachu moved forward.

The duo ran out in front of the mystery Pokémon. Ash made an exaggerated bow. In his best theatrical voice he addressed the crew. "Roxy, Randy, meet the guardian of Viridian Forest."

The unknown Pokémon landed majestically. It raised its large wings and screamed. "PID-GEOT!"

* * *

Ash couldn't believe it. After such a crummy day, something good finally happened. He ran up to one of his oldest friends who greeted him with an affectionate nuzzle. Pikachu jumped right onto Pidgeot's head. Ash and Pidgeot laughed as the yellow Pokémon reached down to pat the larger one on the beak. It was so good to be together again.

Realizing that the large Pokémon must be at least kinda friendly, Roxy sidled up to the reunited friends. "Who is this Ash?" She asked, not quite brave enough to pet the large looking bird.

Ash kept his hands in Pidgeot's feathers, but turned to look at the girl. "This Pidgeot. My Poké-well one of my former Pokémon anyway. Caught this girl when she was Pidgeotto. We had some pretty amazing adventures."

"Pidgeot." Pidgeot agreed, and preened Ash's hair.

"Hey that tickles!" Ash moved away, clutching his ear. Pikachu laughed from atop of Pidgeot's head.

"Former Pokémon?" Roxy tilted her head in confusion.

Ash laughed. "Yup. Pidgeotto was with me pretty much the whole Kanto journey. Together we earned several badges, and if Team Rocket had kept their noses out of it, the Indigo League. We were on our way back to Pallet Town when we came across a Fearow. I had met this particular Pokémon when it was still a Spearow, and it and its friends had tried to peck me and Pikachu to death. When we met it again, it had evolved. Now with the bigger wingspan, it began picking on the local Pidgeys. Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot to protect them. She whooped the big bully's tail feathers, and chased it out of the forest. However, it could still come back anytime. That's why I released Pidgeot, so she could stay and protect the Pokémon in the forest." Ash patted the flying type. "I come back and say hello each time I visit Pallet Town." Pidgeot snuggled against the trainer, drawing out another laugh.

"Wow." Roxy was impressed. Maybe this kid had some skill after all. "I don't really get it though. How could just let go such a powerhouse Pokémon?"

Ash frowned at that. "Pidgeot isn't a slave, she's my friend. A real friend supports you when something big comes your way. What's bigger than protecting your extended family?"

Roxy wanted to ask more, but Pidgeot lowered her head so Pikachu could jump off. "Ot-ot," she cooed at the duo. The Pidgeot took off. Roxy and Randy shielded their eyes, but Ash and Pikachu watched as their friend left.

Roxy turned to Ash. "Is she gone?"

Ash shook his head. "She asked us to wait. We usually visit for a bit longer, so it must be something super important." Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder. The Pokémon nodded, agreeing with his trainer. Roxy wasn't sure what to do. She glanced back at Randy, who only gave her a thumbs up as he kept filming.

They didn't have to wait long. Pretty soon the trees were swaying again. This time Pidgeot landed with much less fanfare. She cooed at her former trainer. Ash approached, his expression growing worried. He reached up, and took something off her back.

"Pidgey," a small desolate voice whimpered at the human. Ash was careful not to nudge the Pokémon's wings. He could see one of them was broken.

"What's wrong?" Roxy asked Ash, moving a bit closer to the wild Pokémon. She gasped when she saw the broken wing.

"Professor Oak's is closer than the Poké Center in Viridian," Ash told Roxy. He settled the wounded Pidgey into his arms. "We've gotta go. I'll see you later Pidgeot! Stop by the ranch, or I'll bring the Pidgey back to the forest ok?"

"Pidgeot," she nodded. The Pokémon flew off. Ash gestured for the crew to follow him. Roxy sighed as another chase began. This time they could keep up, but while the Pokéworld crew was breathing heavily Ash could have kept going for hours. They finally exited the forest, and found themselves at the edge of a quaint town. Ash didn't stop, he led them through the town before stopping at a red brick home.

"This is my place. My mom already knows that you're coming. Say hello for me." Ash hadn't stopped moving while talking. Once he was sure that the others had gotten the message, he was off. Roxy looked at Randy, who just shrugged. She squared her shoulders, and rang the doorbell to the home.

A lady with a warm smile answered the door. "Hello there. My name is Delia Ketchum. How can I help you?"

* * *

Ash wasn't preoccupied about the T.V. crew. He knew his mom could handle it. He was more worried about the Pidgey in his arms. He could hear Pikachu offering encouragements to the hurt Pokémon, but it wasn't responding. He was starting to get really worried. He sped up, blowing past everyone he passed. Some were not that nice about it, but he was used to a few curses thrown his way.

Finally, he pulled up to the Poke Prof's ranch and lab. He rang the bell, jogging in place so as not lose speed. He pushed inside as soon as the door cracked open. The door nearly hit Gary in the face, but that may or may not be on purpose. "Get the Professor!" He called out, already heading to the transfer/healing room. Gary was too busy swearing to reply.

Ash put the Pidgey into a machine, one very similar to the devices used in Poke Centers. Ash was gathering the medical supplies when the Professor came in. "Ash?" Professor Oak looked for the flustered trainer. He took one look at the injured Pidgey, and started the machine. Soon enough there was glowing light. Once the light faded Pidgey was awake. The little thing gently moved its wings, then faster, before getting up. The baby Pokémon then began moving around, chirping excitedly. The humans and Pikachu relaxed, everything was going to be fine.

"Long time no see Professor," Ash joked. Pikachu saluted from atop his trainer's shoulder.

Professor Oak smiled. "It's nice to see you too. Phone calls aren't enough. Would you like to bring your new friend, and join us for another cup of tea?"

"Pika!" His partner poked him to pay attention. Coming through the door was a familiar face. A yellow reptile, that looked like it was constantly pulling up a pair of baggy pants.

"Scraggy?" The yellow reptile looked up, and started dancing around. "Scraggy! Scraggy!" Pikachu jumped down, and both yellow Pokémon. It hadn't been too long since they had sent Scraggy to the lab, but it was always good to see a familiar face. Ash knelt down, and the reptile jumped right into Ash's arms.

"Hey buddy!" Ash greeted him, giving him a nice hug. "Could you do me a favor?" Scraggy thumped his chest proudly. "Could you tell everyone that I'll be bringing around some visitors tomorrow?" Scraggy lit up, and dashed away. Ash picked up the Pidgey, and Pikachu followed him. Oak smiled and showed his guests to the library, while calling for Tracy and Gary to join them. They would have a nice chat, and make plans for the upcoming interview. Not that anyone expected for any plans revolving around Ash Ketchum to remain stable.

* * *

Roxy was perplexed. The woman who was determined to have them call her Delia, was one of the nicest people she had ever met. So different from her son. She also introduced them to the resident Pokémon of the house, Mr. Mime. "Where did you catch him Ms. Delia? Mr. Mimes are so rare."

Delia laughed. "I didn't catch him. Mimey just showed up one day. He helps around the house a little, and has been an excellent friend. I believe Ash wanted to catch him once, but so did this traveling ringmaster. Between all the ruckuses, it caused Mimey to become quite agitated. We all decided that it was better to just let it be. He's made a home with the two of us, no the four of us. I can't believe that I almost forgot Pikachu."

Randy had finally put down the camera. He stretched a little, his arms a little numb for running with the camera for so long. "I hate to interrupt Ms. Delia, but is there any way we could be shown to our rooms? It's been a long day."

"Of course. I'll bring up a little something for you to eat later. Follow me, I've had some rooms put together ever since Ash hinted that he might be coming home soon. His friends tend to come over and visit whenever they hear Ash is coming back to town. So, your rooms all made up."

Roxy and Randy followed the mother up some stairs. "Does Ash have a lot of friends?" Roxy asked, trying to understand the puzzling trainer.

"Oh my yes. There's Dr. Oak's boy. Then of course there's the two gym leaders he traveled with. They stop by from time to time. Then there all the friends he's made across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, the Orange Islands, Sinnoh, and he just back from the Unova region. I hope he's going to stay awhile. It's been so long since we've had a chance to have a real chance to visit." The woman's face hardened, "plus he has some explaining to do."

Before Roxy could ask, Ms. Delia had led them to two rooms down the hall. "Here you are. Randy this is your room, and Roxy yours is next door. I'll knock, and leave your food outside once it's ready. Have fun!" She waved at the crew, and went back downstairs.

Randy sat down on the bed. "Well that was unexpected," he told the red head.

Roxy snorted, but remained standing. "Understatement of the year. How could you let me make such an ass out myself?"

"You didn't need my help there Rox." The cameraman smiled, and pulled out an USB drive. We should probably send the footage to the old man."

"What footage? We haven't even started the interview yet!" Roxy told him, her hands on her hips.

Randy didn't look up from where he was fiddling with the camera. "Maybe not, but I still got nearly a full day's of footage. He might want to pull something out of it. Maybe that large Pidgeot."

Roxy chewed her lip thinking about it. "Maybe," she answered. She pulled out her cell, and dialed her father.

She heard the phone ring a few times before someone answered. "McClain speaking." She heard on the other end.

"Hi daddy!" Roxy couldn't help but smile. It was always good to hear his voice. "We made it to Pallet Town."

"Did you meet the source?" Mr. McClain asked, his tone a little brusque.

Roxy hesitated, she had kinda made mess of this already. "Um, we thought we were going to meet them at Professor Oak's ranch."

The older reporter sounded perplexed. "I thought Oak told me that Ash was supposed to meet you there, and give you a little time to get to know him before the formal taping."

"Wait, you knew the source was Ash Ketchum? Why didn't you tell me?!" Roxy screamed into the phone.

Mr. McClain just laughed. "I wanted your first impression to be untainted, and…"Here the reporter paused for a moment. "I believed you would figure it out."

Roxy blushed. "I may have made a mess of it already. I didn't know who he was, and treated him like he was the Professor's errand boy."

"He is Oak's errand boy, but he's also one of the most traveled trainers around." Mr. McClain scolded her. "However, I believe I also taught you not to judge a story based only on first impressions. Did you manage to get any footage today?"

"Randy managed to tape a few things," Roxy muttered.

"Good. Send it to me. I'll review the footage here." The boss ordered.

Roxy motioned for Randy to hand over the USB drive. She also fingered Porygon's Pokéball. "Porygon, I choose you!" She threw the ball in the air, releasing her partner. Porygon appeared, but he didn't immediately come over. If Roxy didn't know any better, she would say the pink Pokémon was sulking. "Porygon I need you to deliver this to my dad." She held up the drive, but her partner still didn't move. He wouldn't even look at her. "Porygon?"

The pink Pokémon finally turned around, and glared at his trainer. He looked pointedly at the Pokéball still clutched in her hand. Oh. Roxy scratched her cheek in embarrassment. She had been so upset, that she had forgotten how much Porygon hated to be trapped in its Pokéball. "Sorry," she told her partner. "I promise to not use this unless needed." The Pokémon nodded, instantly becoming friendlier. Maybe, he would be more amenable now. "Would you _please_ take this back to Pokéworld, specifically my dad?"

Porygon squealed happily, and snatched the drive. Roxy put her cellphone on speaker, and handed it to Randy. She dug out her computer from her suitcase. She opened it up, and held in front of her. Porygon dove into the screen, disappearing into a flash of light. Randy handed the cellphone back, once Roxy had placed the computer on a table. "Dad? Porygon is on the way." She told the man waiting on the other side.

Roxy heard a high pitched squeal. "He's already here. Grab some grub, and I'll talk to you all later." Roxy listened to the dial tones. She glanced at Randy, who only shrugged. For the first time since she got the assignment, Roxy wasn't sure how this would all turn out. This wasn't what she was expecting at all.

* * *

Ash opened his front door cautiously. Professor Oak's warnings ringing in his ears. He could handle world ending situations, crime syndicates, but a stressed out mother was one thing he wanted to avoid at all costs. He looked at his buddy, who glared but followed the silent request. The Pokémon climbed off the trainer, and quietly edged through the doorway. A yellow claw beckoned the teen inside. Ash squished himself through the small crack. His mother and guests were gathered around the kitchen table. If he kept quiet, he might be able to make it up the stairs with none the wiser.

"Mr. Mime!" Or maybe not. Mr. Mime came down the stairs, wearing its usual pink apron. The Pokémon was smiling at the return of two family members. He probably didn't mean to bust them, but his mother was definitely paying attention now.

"My little Ash!" He heard his mother cry out. The next thing he knew, his life was being squeezed out of him. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you." She glanced down at the sniggering Pikachu. Ash gasped, when the crushing embrace ended. Air sweet air. "Pikachu!" When Ash got his breath back, he could see his partner getting the same treatment. He would need to step in soon. He could already see the sparks in his partner's cheeks. Pretty soon there would be an indoor lightning storm.

"Mom you're squishing him to death!" Ash quickly grabbed his partner. Too late. Pikachu hadn't registered his freedom yet, and let out the electricity inside. Ash collapsed. Pikachu patted his trainer in apology.

Delia covered her mouth in mortification. "Oh, I'm so sorry you two."

Ash twitched a few times, and then shook it off. You can't be the trainer for an electric type, and not expect to get shocked. "It's fine mom. Kinda reminds me of the first day we met."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

Ash stood up, and this time he gave his mother a hug. She laid her head on her son's shoulder. How he'd grown. He was taller, stronger, and still the sweetest thing. She was so proud of him, and hoped he would stay for a while. If he was here, then he wouldn't be in danger. If he was here, then there wouldn't be a Legendary needing to rescue her boy. If he was here, there wouldn't be anyone saving the world. Darn, she just talked herself out of keeping him in her arms forever, hadn't she? Delia stepped back. A few tears threatening to be shed. "I'm so glad you're home."

Then she whipped off of one of her slippers, and hit Ash over the head. "Ash Ketchum! What on earth were you thinking? The Shamouti Isles was one thing, but now Professor Oak tells me that you've been out saving the world again. AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!" Ash was too busy rubbing the sore spot to respond.

Delia took a breath. Pikachu jumped back onto Ash to rub the sore spot, while the trainer talked. "I didn't want you to worry."

"Well I did anyway," she huffed. "Now come in. Are you hungry?"

Ash grinned. Pikachu smiled. "Always," he replied.

* * *

The duo squeezed into the kitchen table. Ash nodded at Randy, and got another in reply. He waited for Roxy to finish chewing. "Was your room okay?"

Roxy gulped. "Fine. Your mother is an amazing cook by the way."

"Pikachu," the Pokémon crossed its arms, and nodded in agreement.

Roxy fiddled with her spoon. She felt a little uncomfortable witnessing that intimate family scene. She was glad that Randy had left the camera upstairs. That was something the public didn't need to see, and while she trusted her father. It was still better the footage didn't exist. She could do a proper family segment later, if Ash even continued the interview. Gosh, she hadn't been this anxious since her first piece on GO! GO! PORYGON! "I got a text from my father on the footage shot so far. He thinks he has enough to put together a segment. He wants to show it tomorrow around 7 p.m."

"Alright," Ash replied.

Roxy stared, mouth agape. "Alright? Just like that? Don't you want any say on the editing?"

Ash shook his head. "Isn't the whole point of an interview or a news program is to show the truth? Today was weird, but truthful. As long as your dad doesn't change too much, I won't complain. You all make as many shots as you need. That's your job. My job is to answer as many questions I can, and show you what I'm all about. That's why…" Ash grinned at all the occupants of the room. "You all are coming with me to the Professor Oak's lab with me tomorrow. Cuz if you wanna really get to know me, then you need to meet my friends. The humans one are mostly out and about, but you can meet the most of the ones that are Pokémon."

Randy frowned, he needed more clarification. "You don't mind what we film? Isn't there anything you want to keep private?"

"I'm kinda an open book." Ash scratched his cheek while thinking. "If there's something I want you to butt out of, I'll tell you okay?"

The T.V. crew nodded. That was fair, actually it was more than fair. Roxy couldn't help but think that maybe she hadn't blown this thing after all.

Delia had returned with a piping hot stew. "I'm so glad you all settled that. Ash, I'll make sure to record the broadcast okay?" She sat the large pot in the middle of the table. She batted Ash's encroaching spoon, and went back to get more bowls.

"Fine. Fine. We may not even be back by then. It will probably be a long day at the lab. Even longer if we go explore Oak's Poké Corral." Ash muttered, his attention mostly on the stew.

Roxy looked at the room's occupants, the stew, and back up to the people. "Who's going to eat all of this? Randy and I already had our share."

Delia had returned with two more bowls. She set one in front of Ash, and one in front of Pikachu. "With these two gluttons, it will get eaten. Don't you worry."

Ash and Pikachu ignored the females. They clapped their hands together in thanks. "Itadakimasu!"

* * *

Several cities away, Mr. McClain pushed away from his desk with a sigh. He glanced over at the sleeping Porygon at the corner of his desk. He gave it an affectionate pet, smiling at the sleep bubble coming out of its mouth.

It had been a long couple of hours, but McClain was certain he had pulled it off. He had decided to cut the footage off at the introduction of Ash's Pidgeot. It gave the audience a little teaser for the next part. The long time newsman smiled, the first segment of their interview with Ash Ketchum was complete. Not that's what he was putting in the titles. No, the whole audience was going to have watch Roxy's journey to the big reveal with them. He emailed few clips to the morning news channels, to give the public a taste, but no more than that. He didn't want to ruin the surprise. The title of the segment was Revelations. Vague, but it would be a good segway for the titles of other segments. It would be a challenge to take Roxy's footage and get it all edited under 24 hours for the public, but it would be worth it.

McClain took one last look at the clips. He was a bit worried about Porygon's past being revealed, but it was better addressed now rather than later. Plus, Ash did a good job in revealing Porygon's true nature. The poor little guy just need approval, and unfortunately the first people to offer that had been bad guys. Now Roxy would never have to fear her Pokémon's past being revealed, even if she was a little embarrassed about it now. McClain snorted, no what she should really be red in the face about was her treatment of the Ketchum boy. He'd been nothing but polite, and she had blown him off. She hadn't listened to what he had to say, and didn't realize that the person she was trying to interview was right underneath her upturned nose. She had been so focused on finding some super important scientist, or rough & tough hero, she had overlooked the boy right in front of her.

Then again maybe that's how the boy has flown under the radar all this time. Every time a crisis happened, the media focused on getting the stories out of the officials: the mayors, G-men, and Officer Jennys of the world. They never interviewed the everyday people at ground zero of the conflicts. They especially ignored the young trainers, even if they were front and center of the conflict. After all what could a bunch of kids really contribute, even with Pokémon at their disposal?

Yes, McClain had thought long and hard on the ageism rampant in the media. With the stories Oak had shared with him about the young trainer, if even if a fraction of them were true then the whole world owed their lives to the young man. Yet, he seek any credit, except for his accomplishments in his profession: becoming a Pokémon Master. It was humbling, and the reason he had sent Roxy in blind. He wanted his daughter to get to know the real Ash, before being dazzled by the glamour of his deeds. Maybe she would learn a little about not judging a book by its cover.

McClain shut down the laptop. He would send Porygon back to its trainer in the morning. It was late, time for bed. He wondered at what aspects of Ash's character would be revealed in the morning.

* * *

 _Whew. Done. So I've got a deal for you all. The next chapter is almost done, and its full of cameos from the rest of the anime world. If I get at least 10 reviews, 10 more favorites/follows, then I'll post the next chapter first chance I get. If not...then you all will just have to wait till my editor and I finish rewriting the first couple of chapters. :)_

 _Hope to hear from you all soon. Until next time!_


	6. The Face Palms Heard Across The World

Chapter 5-The Face palms Heard All Over The World

Or Where Ash's Friends Smack Themselves

Episode Speak:

"Dialogue"-Normal Speech

 _'Dialogue'- Pokémon Language_

 **'Dialogue'** - **Telepathy**

* * *

Mewtwo stared up at the moon. It was ritual for him. He felt so calm when gazing at the night sky. The view from Mt. Quena was one of the best. While visiting his clones and their families was always a treat, slipping away to star gaze was one of his favorite past times.

His quiet contemplation was interrupted by a pink bubble popping into existence.

 **'Hi!'** A female voice called out, right before a small pink body pounced on the floating bubble.

Mewtwo facepalmed. His three digits clutched his temple, trying to stave off the headache that he could feel coming on. He always seemed to end up in some sort of pain when his 'cousin' stopped by. **'Good evening, Mew.'**

The bouncing Mew giggled. **'Hello Mr. Broody. Or should I call you Pokémon of the Moonlight, like the humans?'**

Mewtwo sighed, the little pink ball of mischief would never stand for a quiet night. How could two genetically similar beings, be so different in disposition? **'Is there something you wanted Mew?'**

Mew bounced for a few seconds, before popping the psychic bubble. She floated before Mewtwo, growing a little more serious. **'I've heard of something. A mysterious something that has set the human world, the Pokémon world, and even the land itself a buzz.'**

 **'Is the world about to end?'** Mewtwo joked. Really what did the pink menace want? Mewtwo had actively tried to distance himself from Pokémon and humans after his failed world domination attempt. Yes, he made sure his clones were taken care of, but little bothered him. Team Rocket wasn't much of a concern anymore, since he had wiped their leader's memories. For the first time in his existence, he was free. He could travel the world, as long he avoided humans. He could fraternize with the clones he once lived, but were usually too busy raising their own families. He was…alone.

Mew always took the time to visit, but she had own her obligations. Mewtwo didn't know the specifics, but he thought of his cousin as a guardian. She seemed in tune with the forces that governed their planet. She always knew when trouble was about to happen, and often would interfere from afar. Mewtwo was also aware that she would sometimes slip away to other dimensions, places outside the confines of time and space. He had been brought to one of those pockets of altered reality once, and come upon a presence that put even his powers to shame. He knew that Mew was well aware of these higher powers, and often acted as their instrument. She had even told of him of others Mews in the world, each with their own duty. While Mewtwo traveled, purposeless.

His thoughts sometimes traveled back to memories of a raven haired trainer. Twice the boy had intervened in his fate. First, as an innocent ready to sacrifice his very life to stop his rampaging anger. The second was the so called strongest Pokémon of all had his life on the line. The strange thing is, the boy didn't even know him at the second meeting. Once Mewtwo had realized his mistake in seeking revenge against humans, he had wiped the memories of the children and Pokémon he had harmed. Maybe that was the reason the boy saved him. The young trainer had wanted to help a Pokémon that he _thought_ was blameless. A victim in Giovanni's schemes. Mewtwo could have unblocked the lost memories, the boy could be trusted, and he knew that. Yet he hadn't. Was it from cowardice? Mewtwo wasn't sure. It was question would ask himself often, especially when he would rest in human territories.

Mew popped him on the snout. He looked into her eyes, and could see the amusement there. **'Lost you for a while there. If you keep this up, one day you might stay lost in that mind of yours."**

 **'Not a chance,'** Mewtwo replied while smiling. **'You enjoy shaking me out of my musings to allow that.'**

 **'True,'** Mew laughed. She clapped her arms to her snout, unsuccessfully. **'But to answer your question, before your mind wandered off, I don't think the world is danger this time.'**

Mewtwo's eyes widened in surprise. **'This time? You make it sound as if the world being in danger is a regular occurrence.'**

 **'That's because it is.'** Mew told him, completely nonchalant. **'Empires rise and fall. Meteors fall from the sky. Waters rise, and recede. Mountains rise, and crumple. The world is constantly in flux, and thus ending. What most do not realize is that for each ending, what follows is a new beginning. Our duty as Alpha Pokémon is to preserve as many lives as possible during the endings of the world, thus allowing the inheritors of the past to determine the new future.'**

 **'Our duty?'** Mewtwo questioned the Origin Pokémon. **'How can I have a duty to this world? I was not created by the world, but by one of the races on it. I am unnatural, even more so than my children who at least have others that are similar to them.'**

Mew sighed, and tapped her cousin on the snout again. She shook a claw at the obstinate Pokémon, like a mother scolding a hatchling. **'Do you really believe that you are the only creature to be the first of a new species? New life forms appear on this planet all the time. Or are you still brooding over being a creature of artificial origins? You are not the first creature to be created by another, nor will you be the last. Not even a few weeks ago was there a new lifeform to appear. Like you, they were not sure of their place in this world. With a little help, they made a new home for themselves. Something you have yet to do, but I digress…"**

Mewtwo could hardly breathe. There were other artificial life forms out there? Ones that were lost, like he was? Oh, how he wanted to interrogate his cousin for more answers, but she had more to say. **'You are powerful Mewtwo. You know this, but you've yet to find a proper outlet for this power. I am not worried. You will find your place in time, as we all eventually do. Most find it as they grow, it is understandable that you struggle with your lack of purpose since you came fully formed since your birth. Although…"** Mew smiled her most mysterious smile. **'I believe that you might have a little growing up of your own in your future."**

Mewtwo shifted uncomfortably. Did his cousin know about the muscle aches he'd been having lately? The odd flares of power that he felt in the night? He looked in his cousin's eyes, and saw the wisdom of the ages in her gaze. She knew, more so she could probably could tell him what these changes meant, but she wouldn't. She believed in all beings finding their own path. She would never tell him all she knew, but she would be there to support him in the midst of change. Just like she had been there during the aftermath of New Hope Island, and how she would be there once he figured out what all these changes fully manifested. **'I look forward to it,'** he told his closest friend.

 **'Good,'** she replied. **'For I feel great changes coming. One that might envelope this whole world. It's strange though. The earth doesn't feel apprehensive about this, in fact it seems happy. I've never felt anything like it.'**

Mewtwo pondered this for a second. **'Do you have any clues? Any indications on where this change might be coming from?'**

Mew shook her head, and started to hover in circles. Her version of pacing. **'The earth is being frustratingly vague. The seas only echo about the water Pokémon living under its waters. The dragon force has been surging lately as well. The only clue I have is the recent agitation in people and Pokémon on the land.'**

 **'People and Pokémon?'** Mewtwo repeated while floating beside his friend. **'Isn't it unusual for so many different species to be worried about the same thing?'**

Mew giggled. **'Oh, they're not worried. They are all excited. Apparently, there's been one human who's seen several Legendary Pokémon. The humans plan to reveal the identity of the human on their picture box thingies.'**

Mewtwo still didn't get it. **'What is so special about that?'**

 **'Poor little sheltered Mewtwo.'** Mew patted her perplexed cousin patronizingly. **'While we get to see a Legendary Pokémon every time we gaze into a still pond, not everyone does. So it is usually a big deal when one of us appear. We are renowned for our powers and rarity, but in olden days we were revered for restoring the balance of the world. Maybe this might be the first step in the reclaiming of that knowledge.'**

Mewtwo looked skeptical. **'In my experience humans rarely appreciate anything. They always want more.'**

 **'And yet…'** Mew looked heavenward. **'Most Alpha Pokémon would avoid such humans. What must this one be like to not only see, but interact with so many?'**

Mewtwo has a sudden flashback of a raven headed trainer who Pokémon flocked to. Maybe…this mysterious human might be similar to him. A person that saw people and Pokémon as equals, and friends. It might be worth the journey, to find at least one more example of a decent human being. Mewtwo thought of the logistics, evaluating the least conspicuous spots to gather information. He held out a paw to his cousin. **'Up for a little adventure Mew?'**

The pink Pokémon didn't even hesitate to put her paw in his. **'Always,'** she replied. Together the psychics teleported away.

* * *

Brock Harrison was harried. He had gotten up extra early to cook breakfast, lunch, and begin prepping dinner for his nine siblings, his troublesome parents, himself, and all the Pokémon. It was a big job, and when he had decided to take a break from his medicinal studies, this wasn't what had in mind. It was supposed to be a short visit, but somehow his family had convinced him to help around the house a little. Good think that he actually enjoyed cooking. He had just gotten lunch bags packed away, when he decided to turn on the television.

The morning news people were all aflutter. Apparently, the T.V. crew who were interviewing a formerly confidential informant of Professor Oak, had released a sneak preview of their first episode. The rest of the news program would be shown tonight. Ever since the media had gotten wind of the poor Professor's source, it was all anyone ever talked about. Even his household couldn't escape the frenzy. Brock sighed, he better get started on making some snacks. Heaven knows they were going to need it, when all of his siblings stayed up to watch the broadcast.

* * *

It was a pleasant morning in the Maple household. May had just returned from a conference in Golden Rod City in Johto. She was currently enjoying her mother's home cooking. Her brother was too busy eating to make snipes at his older sister. Norman Maple was enjoying the local newspaper, and his wife Caroline Maple was busy prepping a stew for dinner that night. It was peaceful, at least until Max spotted something on the television. Then the next thing May knew was that there was a bowl of half eaten porridge on her head. She clenched her fists, desperately trying to control her temper that wanted to flare.

Max wasn't paying any attention to the mess he'd caused. He was too busy turning up the volume on the family T.V., just catching the beginning of their next topic. "…that's right Jed. The Pokéworld channel has just released clips for their exclusive interview with the person who set the world abuzz."

Norman put down the newspaper, but didn't notice his daughter still trying to get porridge out of her hair. "Pokéworld, isn't that news channel that got the right to broadcast at Professor Oak's residence?"

"Yeah!" Max jumped, and raised his fist in excitement. "They're going to be the first in the world to talk to the person who's seen more Legendary Pokémon than anyone else in the entire world! I'm so jealous. I wish I could be there to talk to them too. I bet they know more than any other researcher out there. So cool!"

Max got all starry eyed, at least until a bowl of porridge met his face. The boy managed to get the bowl off, but the porridge remained. He cleaned off the stuff on his glasses, and glared at his sister. She was nonchalantly fluffing her hair, but her breakfast bowl was conveniently missing. He charged right up to her. "What's was that for?"

May pretended she didn't have a clue what the kid was talking about. "I'm not sure what you mean," she told her little brother in her most prim and proper voice.

"Oh, yeah?" He challenged, getting right up into her space.

"Yeah!" May responded, not backing down. They crashed forehead, neither one willing to give up their battle. Until two small petite hand broke up the argument. They looked up to see their mother giving off a menacing aura. They could practically see Gengars and Haunters ready to devour them if they pissed her off anymore.

"Enough," she told her children tersely. "One more outburst, and neither one of you will be watching the broadcast tonight."

"I have to watch that show tonight, mom." Max whined. "It's educational! Think about all the stuff I could learn for my big test. I'm going to be taking the test for my trainer's test soon!"

May clasped her hands in supplication. "I need to watch this show for its sophistication value. All the coordinators are talking about this source. I'll lose out on the elegance portion of the pageants, if I don't have some basic knowledge of this source. A Coordinator has to well rounded, to have well-bred Pokémon." May tried to list more sophisticated reason, but the truth came out in her next whine. "Plus all my friends will be watching it."

Caroline Maple wasn't moved. She waggled one finger at her children. "One more fight, and I tear out the plug for the television. Am I clear?" Her children nodded. The grabbed each other, and put on their biggest smiles. The mother walked away, not noticing the crossed fingers the children held behind their backs.

* * *

Dawn was a shopping maniac. She had a multitude of bags on her arms, and was skipping down the streets in Azalea Town. Her mind was racing with creative juices. She had already stocked up on sketch books, pencils, and was gathering enough fabric to make a dressmaker envious. Dawn was hoping to get some inspiration from Profess Oak's mysterious source about Legendary Pokémon. She needed some new outfits to give her the edge in upcoming Wallace Cup. She just knew that some Legendary inspired clothing would make her Pokémon stand out.

She had enlisted some of her Pokémon has shopping mules. Togekiss was carrying most of the packages, but Piplup had a few he was struggling to keep steady. Piplup's boxes started to tumble, he tried to correct, but ended up tripping. He landed amongst the boxes, a little stunned. Togekiss took this as his cue to rest his aching back, and joined the sprawled water type. Dawn glanced at her Pokémon, "c'mon guys we still have another store to get to. We only have until nightfall to get all of these fabrics back to the Poké Center, and get ready for the broadcast tonight. This one is supposed to have some of the glitteriest fabrics in all of Johto. Let's go!" The burdened Pokémon face palmed. Their trainer just didn't get it. She only smiled that innocent smile that got them to follow orders even when they didn't want to. Piplup looked at Togekiss, and they sighed as they picked up the dropped packages. They grumbled, but got back up, and tried to keep up with their excited mistress.

* * *

Cilan had finally arrived at the Poké Center. Who knew traveling by yourself could be so exhausting? Sure, it took less time to prepare his and his Pokémon's meals. Although, he tended to still make too much, too used to cooking for three he supposed. He could handle leftovers, but the smell of so much food seemed to attract the local wild Pokémon, like bees to honey. It was a battled infused journey to the home of the Slowpoke Well, and his Pokémon had earned a well-deserved rest. Guess the fishing at the well would have to wait till tomorrow. Shame.

Cilan sighed dejectedly. It was lonely too. He wished he could have had more time with the dark skin chap that helped him with angry Gyrados. He had looked like he was on a journey too, and his medicinal skills were A-class. He wished that he had gotten the aspiring Poké Doctor's name. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. He wondered if Nurse Joy would enjoy a little help filling the bellies of any trainers that stayed over at the center tonight.

* * *

The Poké Center in Hearthome City was overflowing with noisy trainers. It was irritating. Several of them had plopped down right in front of the Center's television, probably thinking that closer proximity might mean they would learn about the mysterious source faster. Idiots.

Paul Allen knew better. Distance and persistence were key, in battle, and life in general. That's why he had found a booth that sit a little higher than the rest of the cafeteria. He had a perfect view of the television, meddlesome trainers or not. He was casually drinking a soda, watching the other trainers run around like overexcited Poocheyenas. Several were bugging Nurse Joy to hurry and heal their Pokémon before the broadcast. Others were stuffing themselves, trying to get the food down before seven o'clock. It was chaos, and it was starting to grate on Paul's nerves. So, when one trainer walked in all nonchalant, it garnered Paul's notice. He looked young, in a green and yellow outfit that emphasized his youth. A Pikachu sat on the kid's shoulder, very similar to…Paul shook his head. While he now held a little respect for his rival, he really didn't need any more reminders of the trainer either.

"Mind if I sit here?" The unnamed kid asked Paul. He shrugged, for all appearances bored. Inside though, he was impressed. The kid had walked right into the room, and at a glance determined where the best vantage point was. He wondered if the kid could use that ability in battle as well. Once the kid had sit down, his Pokémon jumped onto the table. The strange Pikachu saluted, at the same time its trainer stuck out his hand. "I'm Ritchie, and this is Sparky. Nice to meet you, umm…"

Paul ignored the obvious prompt for his name. He was focused on the television, as the opening credits were starting to play. He also ignored the way the kid and Pokémon exchanged glances. Manners were secondary to possibly getting more information that could help his mission.

* * *

Misty Waterflower was seriously regretting not taking Brock up on his offer to watch the broadcast at his home. She had thought it would be quieter at her home, but she had forgotten to account for her sisters.

"Oh my gosh, I bet he's like super rugged and handsome." Lily, the 3rd oldest sister gushed. Misty could practically see pink hearts to match her pink dyed hair in the girl's eyes.

"No, no, no." Violet, the 2nd oldest girl told the rest of her sister, her index finger wagging in reproach. "I bet he's super sensitive, wearing a beanie cap, and can spout poetry better than Shakespeare." Misty sighed as she watched her purple haired sister twirl around the room in bliss. How did a gift with poetry help anyone find Legendary Pokémon? She really wondered if she was the only in her family to get any brains.

Daisy pouted, and tossed her long golden hair back. "Well, I can't believe my little Tracy-kins has been holding out on me. As soon as this business with the source came out, he just keeps saying that he can't talk about it. Jerk." Misty thought that was actually a good point. Tracy was working for Professor Oak, of course he would know who the source was. It was one thing to keep something from her dopey sisters, even if one them was his girlfriend, but it's not okay to keep secrets from friends. Come to think of it, Ash worked with Professor Oak a lot too. She bet that he was aware of the secret too. The more Misty thought it about it, the madder she became. Two of her best-friends was holding out on her! When she got a hold of them, they were going to experience the return of her idiot mallet!

"Oh look, it's finally time!" Lily shouted, as opening credits began to play. The Waterflower sisters forgot about their ramblings for the moment, and scrambled onto the couch. Pictures of Professor Oak's failed lecture appeared on screen, and several images of newscasters from around the world.

 **Narrator:** When the great Poké Professor Oak let slip the existence of an unknown source for most of his data on Legendary Pokémon, the media exploded with hypotheses on who the mysterious person could be. Tonight, we follow the journey of Pokéworld's top reporter, Roxy McClain as she journeys to discover just who Professor's Oak source really is.

The Waterflower sisters looked at each other in excitement. It was rare bonding experience for all four girls, and smiles abounded. A red haired girl appeared on screen, a mike in hand.

 **Roxy:** Hello! Welcome to a special edition of GO GO PORYGON! I'm your host Roxy McClain, and you are tuned into the interview of a lifetime. Today we are going to meet the mysterious person who's thrown the Pokéworld into a tizzy, Professor Oak's mysterious…"

The reporter was suddenly disrupted by a hand that came out of nowhere. The girl whirled around, and the camera focused in on the interrupter.

Violet glanced over at the runt of the family. "Hey Misty? Isn't that your boyfriend?"

Misty blushed crimson. It was becoming harder to keep hidden (obvious to everyone else) crush on Ash Ketchum. As far as the oblivious boy knew, they were just old friends. She didn't want to come on to someone that didn't always see her as a girl. Okay, sometimes he did. Especially when she dressed up. However, Ash didn't really seem interested in the other gender, for anything other than friendship. At least not yet, but she really didn't need anyone teasing her about it until she could he was ready. So better to play the tomboy, and wait. It would be worth it in the end.

* * *

Victini was happy, also really tired, but mostly happy. He had just spent all day on the mountain with lots of the wild Pokémon. Together they worked on revitalizing the entire vale. It had been hard finding enough different types to help. So worth all the trouble though. By sharing a bit of his power the ground types broke up the soil. Then he would float over to the grass types next. There was a wild Sawsbuck that could throw his bullet seed attack really really really far, even without his help. The grass types spread their seeds wide and far. Then Victini encouraged the water types out from the local river. With their water spout attacks, they give the seeds plenty of water. Then Victini lets the spot rest for a few days. When the seeds sprout, the next step is to share his power with the local fire types. He wishes he could find a Pokémon with fire spin learned. It would make their artificial fires so much easier to contain. Once the new plant life was turned to ash, they would move onto the next area. It would take a really really long time to completely heal the damage from the dragon force, but with every bit of refreshed earth, the closer they got.

It was with these thoughts that he returned back to the human settlement. He liked it there a lot better now. Everyone was really nice, and if he ever felt threatened he could leave. He couldn't do that before Ash came along. ' _Oops'_ , he thought as he came upon some humans. He almost forgot to turn invisible. A quick shift in energy, and he disappeared.

It wasn't that he necessarily disliked humans. It's just that they were a little loud, a little scary. He liked watching them, but he liked it more when they couldn't see him. Other Pokémon were okay, Ash was okay, Damon and his family were okay. It was the others he worried about.

Victini watched as Pokémon and people went about their business. He still hadn't figured out all the human contraptions, but they all seemed a lot happier than the humans that lived here before. Loud, happier, but definitely loud though. They had weird boxes that kept in cold. Weirder boxes that moved, honked, and came in lots of colors. He didn't understand the weird picture things, they showed people, things, but you couldn't touch them. So confusing, but there were some benefits. They also made really delicious food that he couldn't resist. Damon always made sure to keep the tiny sugary cakes which Ash always had on him.

Ash…that was the name of his newest friend. He really reminded him of the old king that used to live here. Not to say the other humans like Damon weren't nice. It's just that Ash was special. He wished the trainer could've stayed, or he could have gone with him and his friends. No, he shook his head. He was needed here, because he could help bring life to the vale a lot faster. His friend the king would have wanted that. He wanted that, but…he wished he could see his other friend from time to time too.

 **Ash:** Excuse me, but are you all the T.V. crew heading out to Professor Oak's?

Victini looked around confusedly. He had just heard Ash. He just knew it. He looked left, right, and there! He could see him. Ash was over in the human's square. He flew right to him, ready for a hug. Ow. Victini hit some kind of wall. Except he couldn't really see it. It was like the invisible ones he would run into when he got too far from the castle. Except they didn't hurt too much this time. Still they were keeping him from his friend. If he could hit it hard enough, maybe the wall would break. Victini backed up, and focused his energy for another tackle. He hit the invisible blockade again, and this time it broke. Except there was no Ash, just a bunch of wires and stuff. A man came out, and yelled at him. _'Oh, Arceus! He was visible again!'_ He quickly turned invisible, and got out of the man's way. He was wasting time. He need to find Ash!

* * *

Damon had just finished reorganizing the library in the Sword of the Vale castle, when Carlita burst through the door. He got so flustered, that he knocked into one of the bookshelves. The shelving came loose, bringing piles of books down on his head. A particularly dusty one landed on his face.

"Damon!" Carlita shouted. "Damon! Oh, there you are. Quit laying around. We've got trouble."

Damon grimaced, but got up. There was no point in arguing with the teenager. Like her mother, Carlita was a real bulldozer. He shook off the books, and followed her out to the main square. They arrived to scene of broken glass and muttering people. He glanced at the girl, silently urging her to speak.

Carlita crossed her arms. "It was so weird. Victini came out of nowhere and started tackling television sets. He's not mad or anything. At least I don't think tears come out when you're mad."

Damon raised an eyebrow. Victini was crying? That didn't make sense. Although the shy Legendary attacking appliances didn't make sense either. He looked around for clues. Several people were gathered around the outside restaurants. That's right, the special program was starting. The whole town was in a tizzy about it. It must be why Carlita was so edgy about Victini attacking T.V.s. He glanced at the restaurant's television and saw a familiar face. Damon face palmed. Of course, it all made sense now!

Carlita looked at like he was mad when he took off. He found a local bakery, and grabbed several of their tastiest treats. Now he just had to find Victini. Luckily or unluckily the restaurant he had seen other was in a lot of commotion. People had vacated around the television. He could hear a battle cry, and then an explosion. He got there just in time to see Victini rubbing its head, and tears in its eyes. Before he could say anything to the Pokémon, Victini noticed the other humans. The Legendary squeaked, and disappeared.

Damon wasn't deterred though. There were still plenty of television sets around, Victini would probably stick around. Time to unleash his bait. He broke open the package of macarons, and tossed several all over the square. Then he waited. There! An invisible hand picked up the pastry. As he watched the macaroon disappeared between the lips of an unseen mouth. Ash's tip worked. Damon threw another, then one a little closer to himself, the next a little closer, then he opened his mouth to eat one himself.

"Tini!" Suddenly a small Pokémon popped out right in front of him. Damon smiled, and handed the Legendary the treat. He didn't really like sweets anyway. Plus, the bait had served its purpose.

"Victini," he started, but hesitated. He didn't want to make the Pokémon even more upset. "You've seen the moving pictures inside some boxes, right?"

Victini nodded while licking the frosting on its fingers.

Damon sighed, and squared his shoulders. "Those boxes are kind of like mirrors. They show reflections of people and places that sometimes can be far away. They might even show pictures and sounds of people we care about. Like Ash?" Damon tensed as tears began to form in the Pokémon's eyes. "Th-that's not to say that we can't watch them when they're in the boxes. We cannot touch them, but we can see them even if they're really far away. That's really cool right?" Damon spread his hands apart, trying to play up being positive.

Victini tilted his head, thinking. Slowly he nodded, but a smile began to form. That gave Damon a great idea.

"Victini, I'm not sure for how long Ash will be on the picture boxes, but I promise that as long as he is I'll have every television in the city playing. That way you can watch from all over. Okay?"

The Pokémon broke out into a happy dance, sometimes disappearing from view, and reappearing in front of other Pokémon and people to share his joy. Soon everyone was joining in with the laughter. Damon smiled, but kept an eye on Carlita as she sidled up to him. "What about all the broken T.V.s around town? It's gonna be hard to keep that promise if those sets are down." She told him, hands on her hips.

Damon refused to let the blow to his wallet damper his good spirits. "I'll pay for the damages, and set up the replacements. It's the least I could do, especially after all the trouble I once caused."

Carlita nodded sagely. "True," she affirmed. Then broke out into a Cheshire cat grin. "That doesn't mean you can't also join in the fun." She dragged him in front of the dancing Pokémon, and started to twirl. Soon Damon was dancing, while the rest of the bystanders joined in or clapped. Damon would make sure Victini got to watch the rerun. For now the people and Pokémon of the Vale were going to enjoy the moment, and so was he.

* * *

Iris was tearing through the streets of the town she happened upon. She had been following the large green dragon, but had lost sight of it. She huffed, but then wailed when she realized that in her haste to follow the unknown dragon type she had gotten herself lost. It had taken several days of wandering to find a trainer's path again. Just when she thought things were looking up, it began to rain!

Axew had immediately taken refuge inside her hair, but Iris didn't have any rain gear at the moment. Cilan usually carried a bit of everything, part of his training to be a Connoisseur maybe? He always like to be prepared. Even Ash could be counted on to pull out survival supplies when the weather got rough. Though he did have the most experience when it came to traveling. Iris wished she he taken a few more pages out of the books when it came to traveling in comfort.

The girl stopped her jog through the rain, to give an intense shake of her head. No, she had to stop comparing herself to her former companions. She was on her own now. She could make them proud, and show everyone she was destined to be a Dragon Master on her own. This trip through Johto would be the next step in her journey. Sure she missed her friends, but she couldn't depend on them forever!

A streak of lightning broke through her silent pep talk. Iris took off again, more determined to find shelter at the town's Poké Center. From there she could figure out where she was, and plan out her next step. Even get a bite to eat along the way. Iris moved a little faster at the thought of food. Another strike of lightning lit up the town, and there! Iris could see the Poké Center. She didn't stop running until she was under the center's shelter.

Iris sighed once she made it inside. It was so much warmer in here. She hated the cold. Cold rain, cold snow, and worst of all was ice. She shivered, drawing out her baby Pokémon. Axew peeped out to check on his trainer. Iris patted him bemusedly, already focusing on getting some food for them both. Axew moved onto the girl's shoulder. Iris could hear his stomach growling, her own echoing in agreement. She walked into the center's cafeteria, and boy was the place packed.

Trainers were all over the place. Most huddled around the center's T.V., but what Iris didn't get was all the bundles of fabric she saw all over the place. It looked like a seamstress' store had thrown up on the place. Materials of almost every color imaginable were strewn all over the room. Yet the other trainers were completely ignoring the mess. They were really absorbed with something. She glanced at her partner, but he only shrugged. Iris crept a little closer to see what the big deal was.

She saw a very familiar duo on screen. "Ash?" She said confusedly. What was he doing on T.V.? Before she could finish contemplating what her friend was up to, a blue head of hair popped out of pile of fabric by her foot.

"Ash?" The bluenette called out, further startling Iris. She lost her balance, knocking into a green haired boy carrying out more food for the center's buffet. The two of them fell to floor head boy's food platters went flying, right into the face of the bluenette that had popped out of the fabrics. For several moments the trio rubbing their sore heads. When the pain began to subside, they all glanced up, and then realized they recognized the faces of the other people involved.

"Iris!" "Cilan!" "Dawn!" They all spoke at once, with big smiles on their faces. The pain of their reintroduction forgotten.

Cilan was the first to fully recover. "What are you all doing here?" He asked his former female companions. "Not that I am complaining. It is a pleasure to reacquaint myself with such lovely friends."

Iris laughed. "That's what I should be asking. I just got off the train with you barely a week ago, and now we meet again!"

Meanwhile, Dawn had finally finished extracting herself from the pile of fabric. She straightened her hat, and turned towards her friends from the Unova region. Shortly after a blue penguin Pokémon poked out of the pile as well. Piplup seemed shocked at seeing some of his friends again, but Dawn clapped and smiled. Axew jumped out of Iris' hair, and tackled the water type. The two small Pokémon started dancing around, their paws hand in hand. The humans ignored the Pokémon in favor of reacquainting themselves with old friends. "I can't believe you all are here! Last time I saw you all, Ash was getting ready to take the next step in challenging the Unova League."

"Yeah, the leagues over and done. He didn't win, but he put up some great fights. When it was all over, he smiled proudly, and proclaimed that he wouldn't let this setback stop his dream. Such a kid." She shook her head, but her friends could see the fond smile belying her words.

"That sounds just like Ash," Dawn told them with a smile. "Still, that doesn't tell me what you all are doing here in the Johto region. Is Ash with you?"

"No. Iris and I split up with him once we arrived in Kanto." Cilan told the bluenette. "I wanted to compete in a fishing competition here in Johto. After all…," Cilan jumped up and pulled out a fishing rod. He posed for his companion, and gave them a thumbs up. "I am a fishing connoisseur."

Iris rolled her eyes. "We took a train from Vermillion City to Johto, and then Cilan and I split up. I had an appointment with Clair from the Blackthorn Gym. We battled, but I lost." Iris seemed disappointed, but immediately brightened. "However, I made a new friend with a Pokémon called Gible. Then we saw this amazing green flying Pokémon. I could tell it was a dragon type, and I tried to follow it. We got a bit turned around though."

Dawn giggled at her friends. "Sounds like you've been keeping busy too. I'm getting ready for the Wallace Cup. I bought most of these fabrics in preparation for the big broadcast tonight. You know the one about Professor Oak's source?"

Iris tilted her head in confusion. "Professor Oak? Isn't that Ash's researcher friend? Why is holding a broadcast?"

"No. No. No." Cilan waved his finger in reprimand. "It's not Professor Oak that has been the focus of the media, it is one of his sources. An unnamed researcher that has provided most of his data for the Professor's research. Imagine this: A mysterious figure that has met almost every Legendary Pokémon known to man. A connoisseur of Legendary flavor. And… tonight the veil of mystery around this figure will finally be revealed!" The young man told them with stars in eyes.

Iris sighed. Cilan lost in his own world, again. She turned to her other friend, and tried to ignore the lunatic sitting next to her. "So, this source guy is a really big deal?"

Dawn nodded. "All the media is raving about him, or maybe her. I'm just hoping to hear a little about some of the Legendary Pokémon they've met. I need a little inspiration to create some outfits for my next completion. It thought Legendary chic would be all the rave."

"Huh." Iris didn't quite know what to say to that. She really didn't care too much about the media, and dress-up was never really her cup of tea. She preferred something she could move around in. Her idea of accessorizing was finding a beautiful flower to put in her hair. Maybe she could pick up a thing or two from Dawn. She was a Coordinator, and putting things together was what their job was all about.

"That's not the best part though!" Both girls jumped when Cilan came out of his fanboy mode. "While the mystery surrounding the source is tantalizing." He paused to smile at his friends. "The most wonderful thing is that this broadcast has brought the three of us together, and it may allow us all to check up on another friend of ours."

"Yeah, what do you think Ash is doing on T.V.? I thought he was going home to visit his Pokémon, and his mother?" Iris asked the others.

Dawn shrugged. "Isn't Professor Oak an old friend of his? I remember Ash stopping to talk him at every Poké Center we came across while traveling together in Sinnoh."

Cilan snapped his fingers as he finally solved part of the mystery. "That's it! Ash must be guiding the newscasters back to Professor Oak's lab. Who better to show them the way than a Pallet Town native?" Cilan materialized his Sherlock Holmes hat. "With a little patience we might all figure out the mystery of the Poké Professor's secretive source."

The girls smiled, and joined the connoisseur at the nearest table. It would be fun to watch the broadcast together. Who knows they might even learn something that would help all of them reach their dreams?

* * *

The moon was starting to show when the two psychics arrived on a roof in Golden Rod City. Mew released Mewtwo's paw, and looked around. She usually stayed away from human settlements, so she was a bit curious. The lights in the cities were so different from the natural lighting in nature.

She turned back to her cousin. "Why this place?"

Mewtwo smiled, and pointed to a large screen directly opposite of them. "Humans in large cities build bigger versions of all their contraptions. The biggest screen I've ever seen is here. Plus it is out in the open, instead of a human's home. Here we can have a perfect view, without having to worry about being disturbed."

"Plus it is high up, perfect for your altophilia." Mew teased.

"High altitudes allow for better perspectives. It is strategic. It doesn't mean I have an obsessive love for heights."

Mew shrugged. "If that makes you feel better, I'll drop it." Mewtwo huffed, just realizing that his cousin was trying to get him riled. She succeeded.

Mewtwo turned his attention to Goldenrod's large screen. A young human girl was on screen with an usual pink Pokémon hovering above her head. A psychic type perhaps? However it was words of the other human off screen that caught his attention.

 **Ash** : "It's Team Rocket's Porygon!"

Mewtwo filled with rage. He could feel the air around him burning with electricity. A dark energy ball was beginning to form in his paw. How dare they! Even after having their memories erased, Team Rocket still posed a threat. He should never left the young human defenseless against the evil organization. His rage only calmed when he noticed Mew waving her paws frantically in front of his face.

 **'Wait. Wait. WAIT!'** The psychic type projected. **'I know those bad humans really push your buttons, but I think there's more to this story than meets the eye. That artificial Pokémon is not acting aggressive, but terrified, and maybe a little ashamed.'**

Mewtwo took a deep breath, letting his anger out. The energy erupting from him calmed down. He turned back to the large screen. The pink Pokémon was revealed to be a Porygon, and a coward. It wasn't until Ash and his partner were calmed, did the Pokémon emerge. It floated in front of the boy, telling him in its own language how sorry it was for the trouble it caused. Ash was skeptical, for a few moments. Mewtwo snorted at how quickly a tense situation turned into a friendly reunion. Ash was fine.

Mew ran commentary for the rest of the human program. It seemed she didn't care for the red headed girl very much. **'She is so rude,'** he heard his cousin say. **'Couldn't she let** **Porygon play a little longer? He's not so bad when he has better people around. He's a lot better than that mean human, that's for sure.'**

The two psychic types watched as the humans left the city, and ventured into the woods. Ash was in his element, but the other humans were nervous. The red head tried to act brave, by imagining what kind of questions she could ask someone called Professor Oak's source.

Mewtwo turned towards Mew for an explanation. **'It's the human the world has been all abuzz about. Someone that's interacted with several of the Legendary Pokémon of the world. I think they may have even met some of the Alphas.'**

 **'Hmm,'** Mewtwo responded. He wasn't really interested in the Alphas. It was good to know that they protected the balance of this world, but otherwise he didn't much care. He was far more interested in seeing more of the raven haired trainer. Currently the boy was answering several of the red headed girl's questions.

 **Roxy:** "I guess my first question would have to be how did Oak's source come across so many Legendaries? Is he a researcher? Did he set out to find them? Or did they come to them on their own?"

 **Ash:** "The more you travel, the greater the likelihood of meeting one. Also if there's any world threatening disaster you're almost certain to find one."

 **'True. Very true.'** Mew nodded as she agreed with the trainer. **'I thought most humans had forgotten that.'**

Mewtwo was a bit more troubled about Ash's statement. Ash shouldn't remember the time that he'd placed the world in peril. Did that mean the boy had run into other incidents of world coming to an end? Mewtwo shook his head to clear his thoughts, and focus on their girl's second question. That had to be impossible right?

 **Roxy:** "My second question would be why would he entrust all this valuable info to just Professor Oak? Why not the media, or some of the other Poké researchers?"

 **Ash:** "Who better to give the information to? He's all about finding out how Pokémon and human interact. Plus he doesn't hog all the information. He's worked with several professor all over the world. He gives lectures all the time about his discoveries."

Mewtwo snorted. Even years later, the boy was still terribly naïve. Just because a person was famous, didn't mean they were good. Several unscrupulous people used their prestige for their own nefarious purposes. Giovanni certainly had.

 **Roxy:** "Then I would ask them why they thought they kept meeting so many Legendaries? Do they have any secret powers? Or are they just exceptionally adept at figuring out where Legendary Pokémon live?"

 **Ash:** "It's not like this source is the only one to ever meet a Legendary. There have been lots of people, the media just never bothered to interview the locals. They all wanted to talk to people like Officer Jenny, the mayor, or sometimes the G-men."

Mew giggled. **'Good point Ash! There cannot be any legends if no has seen the Pokémon they are about.'**

 **Roxy:** "Do you think he's met a Celebi? Or a Dragonite? Lugia? What about an Entei?"

 **Ash:** "Yes. Several. Yes. And no, not a real one anyway." Ash pondered something, before revising his statement. "Okay, I've seen a real one, but didn't actually meet him."

Mewtwo and Mew looked at each other in surprise. Ash had seen that many Legendary Pokémon? That shouldn't be possible.

 **Roxy:** "Do you remember that incident in Machina Town? People say that they Arceus. The real Arceus. Do you think the source met the god Pokémon too?"

Mewtwo felt his stomach drop at that name. He couldn't remember meeting a Pokémon by that name, but it brought up memories of a dark void, a formless voice, and an overwhelming power.

 **Ash:** "Yeah, but I would have preferred to meet him when he wasn't about to destroy a whole town. Something about delivering judgment on humans, but really he was just very very angry."

Mewtwo was distracted from the screen when his cousin started breaking out into hysterical laughter. The pink psychic was doubled over, laughing heartily. What was so funny?

 **'Of course it would be him,'** she finally managed to wheeze out. **'Who else could turn the world on its ear, and have everything back better than before?'**

* * *

Misty and her sisters were hardly breathing when Roxy finally put the clues together.

 **Roxy:** "You...YOU'RE PROFESSOR OAK'S SOURCE!"

"What!" The Waterflower sisters screamed. Misty face palmed. She should have known. Who else was a big enough trouble magnet that even Legendaries had to get involved!

* * *

"That's not possible!" Paul shouted, causing everyone in the Hearthome Poké Center to turn towards him. The purple headed trainer sank back into his seat. He coughed once, and turned his poker face back on, pretending the outburst never happened. He glanced at his table company, who was trying to hold in his mirth. He glared at the kid, which encouraged him to graduate to chuckling.

Ritchie decided to distract the purple headed kid before he decided to murder him. "I can't say I'm surprised Oak's source is Ash. He comes from the same town as the Professor. He's traveled all over the world. I've even run into a Legendary or two when I was traveling with him." His Pikachu, Sparky nodding in agreement.

Paul was surprised. "You know him?" He pointed at the Ash on screen.

Ritchie smiled. "Yep. Battled him in the Kanto League, and met up with him again in Johto. I was kinda hoping to meet up with him again in Sinnoh."

"He's already been and gone." Paul told the other trainer with a shake of his head. He was tempted to say good riddance, but he didn't feel that way anymore. He actually kinda…No, he wouldn't allow himself to finish that thought. Instead, he put the other kid in his place. "Obviously, since the broadcast just showed that he was going back to his home town in Kanto."

Ritchie and Sparky's faces fell, but they soon regained their composure. "Too bad, he's a great rival, but I guess you already knew that huh? After all only another friend or rival keeps track of another person's hometown."

Paul face palmed at that. He knew that kid, Ritchie, was more perceptive than he seemed.

* * *

Brock already had his head in his palm after the first time Ash mentioned the first Legendary he seen. So he wasn't surprised when the reporter, Roxy put the whole thing together. He had been there for most of the adventures Ash had with Legendary Pokémon. He should have put it together sooner. He was so lost in thought, he had missed the reactions of his siblings.

"Onii-chan!" Was the last statement Brock heard before was tackled to the floor by the rest of the Brocklings. He was lucky he didn't have a concussion. He was soon bombarded with demands.

"I can't believe you know someone famous!" His youngest brother told him.

Forester was his only sibling not to tackle him. He stood over his big brother, and asked his own question. "I thought all those stories you told us about Legendary Pokémon were made up. You have to tell me more, I might be able to learn something I can use in my next gym battle."

Brock tried to find his parents, but they were too busy gushing over the revelation to notice the dogpile sitting on top of him. He would have to wait until the kids got tired, or someone rescued him. Brock sighed, and settled in for a long wait.

* * *

Cilan, Iris, and Dawn were flabbergasted. Three of the most talkative trainers reduced to silence. Piplup poked the three humans, hoping to break them out of their trances. It worked, they became animated again.

"I can't believe it," Dawn told the others in awe. Cilan nodded in agreement. He knew that Ash was a fantastic mystery spice, capable of bringing out surprising flavors at any moment, but this was truly amazing.

Iris had a different reaction. She was raging mad, throwing up several bolts of fabric in frustration. "That little brat! He was holding out on us!" Dawn and Cilan tried to calm the raging girl down. Axew clinging onto her hair for dear life.

"Ahem!" A new voice broke up their struggling. Nurse Joy appeared, and she wasn't happy. She pointedly glanced around the room. There was food on the floor, bolts of fabric all over the room, and several of the other trainers were staring at the trio like they were all mad.

Cilan scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Perhaps we should worry about cleanup before we worry about Ash." Under the glare of Nurse Joy, both girls nodded hurriedly.

* * *

Across the world in the Hoenn region the Norman household was violating their noise ordinance. Max was having a meltdown.

"NOOOOO!" The dark blue kid screamed while kicking his feet. It shouldn't be possible. How could Ash of all people know more about Pokémon than he could? He had studied for years! Sure Ash had amazing instincts, an amazing ability to switch strategies, and even make them up on the fly. Okay, so he had saved the world a few times while on their journey together. That was…alright so Ash was amazing. It didn't mean it was fair!

May had just about enough. She pulled on her little brother's ear, dragging him up from the floor. "So Ash knows about a lot of Legendary Pokémon. Have you ever thought about just asking him about it, instead of breaking our eardrums?"

Suddenly the tears stopped. Stars appeared in her brother's eyes. "You're right!" The boy broke out of his sister's grip, and ran up the stairs. "I have to compile a list of questions. I have to organize it all, or I could miss out on the educational opportunity of the century!"

Once the kid had disappeared, May shook her head. Her parents got back to their own business. May turned off the T.V., and picked up her phone. She wondered what her boyfriend thought all about all of this?

* * *

 _Phew. It's all done. This has been longest chapter to date. Hope you all liked it. My editor has pulled a disappearing act, so I guess I'm on my own with improving the chapters. Anyone want to help?_

 _Next chapter will have Pokéworld crew exploring Professor Oak's lab. I wonder what trouble our characters will get up to next? *giggles* See ya next chapter._


	7. Roxy's Do-Over

Chapter 6: Roxy's Do-Over

* * *

 _I'm back! I've got some edited chapters up, and more soon to be put up. Thanks for everybody's patience. I also decided to combine the Sneak Previews with Roxy's Q &A, and move it so the last chapter will always be the newest. I also added a few of my reader's questions up there too. Everyone should thank Reven29 for their awesome help with all the editing. Next chapter is going to feature the Oak family, but in the meantime you can enjoy the Ketchums. Happy reading._

* * *

Ash was awoken by the scent of batter wafting up from the kitchen. His mom was making pancakes! Instantly Ash Ketchum was awake, and jumping out of bed. Pikachu twitched at the sound of a thump, but wasn't ready to wake up yet. Used to his partner's sleeping habits, the boy just scooped the Pokémon up. He didn't really care about fixing his appearance, or changing out of his pjs. He was in his home after all. Pikachu perked up as they got closer to the kitchen. The smell of pancakes finally waking his partner up. By the time the duo thudded into the kitchen both were awake, and salivating.

Roxy stared as the disheveled boy quickly made his way to the table. Already grabbing some of the pancakes stacked in the middle before sitting down. The Pikachu, come to think of it Ash had never given her a name for it, was standing on the table paws out for a pancake of its own. Roxy wrinkled her nose in distaste. Dirty feet on the table did not equate with proper breakfast etiquette to her.

Ash didn't seem to care though. He deposited his stack onto an available plate, then pulled one over for his partner. He placed three pancakes from his stack onto the Pokémon's plate. He waved his index finger at his partner. "Now Pikachu, only put ketchup on one of those pancakes. Got it pal?" His yellow buddy pouted, but nodded in agreement. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his partner dragging the ketchup bottle over to his plate. Ash grinned, and turned back to his own breakfast. Pancakes were amazing, but…Ash glanced back and forth between his stack and the one in the middle of the table. He checked again, but nope there wasn't a single chocolate chip pancake to be found. He looked at his mother over at the sink. "No chips?" He asked her, his voice carrying over his betrayal. Chocolate chip pancakes were a staple welcome home food after every journey.

Randy hid a smile with his coffee cup. Those two were too amusing. Sure beat the McClain working brunches.

Delia tried to ignore the stab of guilt tugging at her heart. She wasn't being immature by not taking the extra step to make more than one type of pancake this morning. She had extra mouths to feed this morning. She tried not to think of the bags of chocolate chips sitting in the cabinet right above her head. The ones she had special ordered for a special welcome home breakfast after the Unova League. She could always use them later she reasoned with herself. "Not this time sweetie." She finished drying the frying pan, and turned towards her son pan still in hand. "Maybe when you're finished with your business with Professor Oak. After all he seems to know all your little secrets." Oops. She hadn't meant to let that last part out.

Ash scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Delia was glad Mr. Randy didn't seem to have his camera with him. Except the young man was reaching for the camera right now. No. Absolutely not. The world was going to have their microscope on her son soon enough, but her home was going to be Ash's safe haven. No matter how mad at her son she was, no one was going to be allowed to invade their privacy. "Mr. Mime stop him!"

Mr. Mime used his psychic attack to pull Randy's camera away from him. Delia sighed in relief. Technically Delia wasn't Mr. Mime's trainer. They lived together, but she didn't actually have a Pokéball for him. They were friends, but that didn't mean the Pokémon had to listen to her. She smiled at Mr. Mime to let him see her gratitude. She was glad she hadn't released the frying pan when she turned to Randy. The poor man shrank into his seat when he saw her weapon. "Now listen here, I don't mind that you all will be filming my son. No one knows better than I how amazing he actually is, but I do mind you trying to film our personal lives. Home should be a sanctuary, somewhere that no has the right to intrude upon. I know you came here to ferret out secrets. To find the things that my son has kept hidden, even from his own mother."

"Mom…" Ash tried to start, but Delia waved him off. She had more important things to deal with.

"But," Delia mustered up her most determined expression, "the one thing I will not tolerate is filming inside our house. Unless we invite it. Family affairs should be kept private. I'm sure there are personal things you would not want shown on television." She relented when she saw Roxy and Randy looking down in shame. "You see? Now I don't want to ruin your breakfast. Eat up, I'm sure you all will have an exciting rest of the day." Mr. Mime released the recording equipment. Roxy and Ash relaxed, but Randy remained stiff until he saw Mrs. Ketchum put the frying pan down before resuming eating.

Delia kissed Ash on the cheek, and grabbed a plate for herself and Mr. Mime. Ash grinned, realizing that things were okay for now. Mr. Mime sat down, and Pikachu pushed the stack of pancakes towards the cooks. Roxy took a bite to stifle her next question. Why did this family let Pokémon eat their table like the humans? She didn't want to come across as rude, especially after that last faux pas. Luckily, Ash quickly became a distraction.

"So the first episode of the interview segment is going to show tonight? What will be in it?" Ash asked in between bites of pancake.

Roxy sighed in relief. Finally, something she could work with. "I told you last night that the recording is going to show around 7 tonight right?" People and Pokémon nodded. "Okay, then. We had lots of film on Porygon's arrival, walking in the forest, and then figuring out that Ash here was Oak's source all along. My dad finished the editing, and he said he was going to show everything up to where Pidgeot showed up."

"Pidgeot?" Mrs. Ketchum asked, her head tilted in confusion. "Oh, you mean your former Pidgeotto that evolved? The one that you let go to protect Viridian Forest?"

Pikachu looked up from its pancake and ketchup roll. "Pika!"

Delia clapped her hands excitedly, which totally confused Roxy. It was almost like the woman thought the yellow rodent was answering her. "Really? Oh how wonderful. Is she doing well?"

Ash gulped down a rather huge bite before answering his mother. "Yeah! She seems to doing great! We didn't get much time to catch up though. She had a hurt Pidgey that she passed onto us. She'll probably stop by in a day or two to pick they baby up."

"How do you know that?" Roxy wanted to know how the kid knew that. It's not like people and Pokémon could really talk to each other.

Ash shrugged. "There's no way Pidgeot is going to let a hurt baby fly back to Viridian on its own. That's not what being a protector is all about." Then he went back to stuffing his face, like he had never said anything insightful and deep at all. Roxy sighed. She seriously did not understand this boy. She was glad when she heard a ding for a new message on her computer. Roxy up her laptop, and a bright white light filled the room.

"Porygon!" Roxy's partner appeared from out of the computer. The pink Pokémon hovered above them for a moment, before settling down next his trainer.

"Why hello there! Porygon was it?" The pink Pokémon nodded. "Just let me get down another plate…" The woman made to get up, but another plate floated over to her surrounded in a light blue energy. She took hold, and the energy dissipated. "Why thank you Mimey."

"Mime." The psychic-type just shrugged off the thanks.

Mrs. Ketchum stacked a couple of pancakes, and placed them before the digital Pokémon. "I don't know if you can eat this Mr. Pokémon, but we do have some Poké-food if you want something else." She needn't have worried. Porygon tucked into the food with gusto. Roxy felt a tiny prick of guilt. She had never fed Porygon anything but Poké-pellets before. It never occurred to her to even ask. She looked around the homey setting. People and Pokémon relaxing together over a meal. This really she had in mind when taking the assignment for the interview, but she found she didn't really mind all that much.

About thirty minutes after breakfast, Ash and the others were ready to depart. During the rest of breakfast Ash had finally let slip that the T.V. crew as expected over at Professor Oak's. Apparently he wanted to lay down some ground rules for his portions of the interview. Once out of the house Randy picked up his camera. He was relieved when no frying pans were waved in his direction even when he began recording again.

Ash and Mrs. Ketchum were saying their good-byes. "Now Ash I promise to set up recording the first episode tonight, so don't worry about getting home in time. If you finish up early though I could use a little help reorganizing the trophy room. It's starting to overflow. If you need anything, you can find me over at the restaurant. Okay, sweetie?"

Ash and his Pikachu nodded. They knew the drill. "Of course. I'm not sure about actually watching the series though. It would be kind of weird to watch myself on T.V. you know?"

Delia giggled. Her Ash could be so weird. One minute bold, the next shy. "That's fine. I can watch it for you. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of what you've been up these last couple of years."

Ash and Pikachu looked sheepish. "Yeah…" He didn't know what to say to that.

Delia giggled again. She looked over to her housemate. "Bye Mimey! Do you mind watching over the house for us?"

Roxy had to do a double-take when she saw the Pokémon salute, in an apron. How weird was this family? "Mr. Mime," the Pokémon responded with all the seriousness of a surbordinate taking an order from a superior officer.

"Bye Mr. Mime!" Ash called out, his partner copying him. The strange apron wearing Pokémon waved to them as the two groups departed.

When they were a safe distance from the house, Roxy tried to redo her introduction for the interview. New day, new chance at doing this right. "Hello there world! This is Roxy from Go! Go! Porygon!" Porygon posed in front of the camera, before floating beside Roxy. "Today we are offering you the exclusive of a lifetime! That's right folks, an interview with Mr. Ash Ketchum, Professor Oak's mysterious source. The man who seen more Legendary Pokémon than anyone else in the world. Who may know more than even the most famous professors in the world. A man who's on his way to being a living legend himself. Let's give him a hand." She began clapping, and Randy turned the camera on Ash.

The boy wasn't acting very excited though. He stood awkwardly, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. Pikachu stood on the boy's shoulders, glaring at the T.V. crew. "Is this really necessary?" Ash asked the crew.

Roxy nodded, motioning for Ash to keep going.

"It's just that this doesn't feel real. I mean yesterday, you were pretty rude to me, and now you want to treat that like it didn't happen. Now you want me to act like this all knowing sage, which I'm not. I'm just a kid, who's had a lot of adventures. Some with Legendary Pokémon involved. This doesn't feel natural. Or right. Can't we go back to the way we were yesterday? You a fast talking jerk, and me answering your questions?"

Roxy's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. Here she was trying to make up for the fiasco yesterday, and he was throwing it back in her face. She noticed that Randy had turned the camera back on her, and she pushed it back on Ash, and kept her hand on it. She did not need more footage of Randy making a fool out of her. "But Ash that was hardly a typical interview setting. We had no clue that it was you we were talking about, and instead we treated you like an inconsequential bystander."

Randy glared down at the reporter. "You did anyway. I thought he seemed like a great kid." She waved at him to be silent. Cameramen shouldn't be heard on T.V.

"So? At least you weren't blowing this whole thing out proportion like the rest of the media out there. Did you know some people were claiming that I was some sort of all knowing sage? Others claimed that I must be a figure of legend coming down to put humanity in their place." Ash rolled his eyes. Pikachu nuzzled his trainer's cheek, trying to comfort him. "Everybody is acting like I'm the first person to ever see a Legendary. There were usually other people around when most of my adventures went down. My friends for one, usually a local who helped us out, the bad guys, and sometimes other bystanders. The media is blowing my contribution way out proportion."

Roxy bounced in excitement, eager for more details. "Other people were there? Like your friends? But, can you name specific people?"

Ash nodded. Pikachu kept track by counting out on his paws. "There were my friends: Misty, Brock, Tracy, May, Max, Dawn, and even Cilan and Iris got drawn into some spectacular messes sometimes. We met some of the locals that were more than willing to help out defend their homes. Let me see there was Tory, Bianca, researcher Graceland, Lizbeth and the people of the water, and just so many others. Then there were the various Officer Jennies and Nurse Joys that helped out. A couple of times members of authority like Lance and Cynthia got involved, and…"

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold up for a sec. Are you saying that met the Champions Lance and Cynthia?" Roxy pressed, stars in her eyes.

"Yep. They boy did they help save our butts. Anyway my point is that there were lots of people involved with this Legendary stuff. Not to mention all Pokémon that helped out too." Pikachu gave up counting, and pumped its tiny fist. Clearly saying without speaking that it helped out too.

Roxy looked conflicted. "But Ash…" She shut up when Randy placed a hand on her shoulder. His serious expression causing her to close her mouth. The cameraman put down the camera, causing the boy and Pokémon to relax. Randy knew if they didn't do something to get those two relax, they wouldn't get any good footage. Clearly, the idea of Ash becoming famous was getting the kid riled up. Time to try a different a different tact.

"So, you don't want to be known as some Legendary sage huh?" Ash nodded eagerly, and the electric-type on his shoulder started to relax too. "Alright. I guess I can kinda understand that. So just who is Ash Ketchum?"

Ash pondered that for a moment. "I guess…first of all I'm a trainer. Someday I want to be a Pokémon master. We've been a lot of journeys to get a little bit closer to that dream. Second of all, I'm a Pallet Town naïve, born and raised. Those are the two things I'm most proud of. The whole Legendary thing, that's not who I am. Just some stuff that happened to me."

Roxy had her mouth hanging open again. He nudged her, and got her refocused. "Hear that Rox? Maybe we should backtrack a little. We've been so distracted by the mention of Legendary Pokémon, we've forgotten the thing we came here for, discovering just _who_ Professor Oak's mystery source is. Why don't we let Ash introduce himself to the viewers?" Together the trio of humans made up a plan for the introduction. Roxy wasn't too impressed with it though.

Roxy looked back and forth between Randy and Ash. "Are you sure that's really what you want to open with? It's not exciting at all!" The oh-so-grown-up reporter whined. Both males nodded, and the girl sagged in defeat. She got in position to restart her introduction, not all enthusiastic. Randy had to hide a smile before taping again. "Hello world! Welcome to a special edition of Go! Go! Porygon!" This time Porygon got right up to the camera, and Roxy had to push the Pokémon out of the way. "Ahem. Like I said this is a special edition, because our crew has got the scoop of the century! Last time we found out the identity of Professor's Oak mysterious source, and now for your viewing pleasure we have scheduled an interview with the trainer. Allow me to introduce Ash Ketchum!"

The camera moved onto Ash who posed with his partner. Both of them holding up the victory sign to the camera. "Hi! The name is Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu."

Pikachu waved at the camera. "Pik-a-chu!"

"I know there's been a lot of hoopla about who I am, and what kinds of Pokémon I've seen. Apparently it's a pretty big deal." Ash shrugs, and his partner laughs. "I guess I should start with that I'm a Pokémon master in training, at least that's my goal anyway. I'm not a researcher, scientist, or scholar really. Sorry if that disappoints anybody. As for how I've been involved with a bunch of Legendary Pokémon, well that's complicated. Each meeting was different, and totally unexpected. For most of the meetings I was traveling on journey, and found myself thrust into an adventure. I don't know if I'll be able to answer every question, but I'll do my best okay?"

Roxy moves into the shot, microphone in hand. "Okay Mr. Ketchum…"

"Call me Ash." Ash rolls his eyes. "I thought we agreed that this wasn't going to be formal."

Roxy blushed, but hangs onto her composure. "Alright then Ash. Would you please tell the audience what you expect from this interview?"

"I don't really expect anything. I just figured that I'd show you around Pallet, then Dr. Oak's, and let you ask a bunch of questions. Isn't that how an interview works?"

Roxy tried to control her temper. She could feel an angry tick mark on her forehead. She need to get ahold of herself. Why couldn't this boy just act like a normal interviewee? "Yes, that is how an interview works. Why don't you show us the way, and maybe explain a little about Pallet too?"

Ash grinned and directed them away further away from his house. "As you can see Pallet is pretty peaceful. I think that's pretty much the whole description it's given in the Pokédex. However, there's a whole lot more to this little town." Randy stops to take an extended shot of the town. He didn't notice on the way in, but Pallet is beautiful. There are only few buildings, most of the surroundings taken up by greenery. The small town is situated at the foot of a mountain, its two entrances leading out to the sea, and the Viridian Forest.

Ash smiles when Randy settles the camera back on him. He's pretty proud of his home town. "Fun fact, this whole town was started because of Professor Oak building his laboratory here."

Roxy looked surprised. "Does that mean most of people in town work for the Oak family?"

Ash scratched his cheek and laughed. "No. Kinda. Not really. Um, let me backtrack. Professor Oak decided that this area would be perfect for his research. He knew that he was going to need access to Pokémon from all over to study, and that he would need a home for them all. I think the whole trainers letting him study their Pokémon in exchange for room and board came later. I think. Anyway he knew that he was going to need a spot that had lots of different terrain to keep the various Pokémon happy. Pallet had access to rivers, forests, we're set up right next to a mountain, and by working with some of the other researchers he's managed to recreate almost any type of habitat found in nature."

"But, but…" Roxy had no words for the kind of expense that would take to build all that. The upkeep alone would cost a fortune! Where on the planet did Oak come up with that kind of money?

Ash didn't notice Roxy's shock. He was too lost in his own musings. "Of course he couldn't do all that right away. It's only thanks to all the lectures and shows he goes on about various research that allows him to keep all this up. Oh, and trainers usually have to pay a small fee for their Pokémon, but it's really small. Still, I'm glad that I got a pass on that."

Randy tried to snap Roxy out of her stupor. Really, the girl needed to get a grip. This was hardly going to be the first surprise the trainer was going to throw at them. The boy had managed to throw them all off balance yesterday, and Randy had the sneaking suspicion they would be in several shocks before this interview would be over. He flicked the girl on the forehead, which finally seemed to snap her out of it. She straightened like a marionette whose strings were pulled taut. "Why do you get a pass, as opposed to other trainers?"

Pikachu laughed, and Ash pet him with a grin on his face. "I didn't at first. It's just when all the kids of my age group quit, the Professor needed someone to keep catching Pokémon for him. Plus, by that time we'd all recognized that trouble tended to follow me like I was dropping candy in front of a Munchlax." Pikachu stood up on his hind legs, nodding sagely at the T.V. crew. Ash playfully glared at his partner. "Then there was the fact I loved to travel to new regions, letting the Professor examine Pokémon he never would have access to otherwise. It's been a good arrangement so far. I was planning letting you all meet them later. Is that okay?"

Randy had to smile. The boy was adorable. Like Roxy when she let her arrogance drop. "We would be honored," he said for himself and Roxy. Bowing his head without jostling the camera.

Roxy was too excited to even remember to bow. This could be a great opportunity. "That would be amazing! I'm sure the viewers would love to meet the team you had when meeting all those Legendary Pokémon. Can we head over to Professor Oak's labs now? Please?"

"Sure," Ash told them with a grin. The humans and Pokémon started back on their way, Ash in the lead. "Want to hear a little bit more about the town?" Both members of the crew nodded, and Porygon squealed in approval. "So, Professor Oak knew he was going to have a big project on his hands. He hired a construction crew, but they were having trouble getting supplies in. Professor Oak's wife, I never met her, but mom says she was nice, got the bright idea to import materials from the ocean that's not too far away from here. It worked, and one of the material providers realized they could move materials to Viridian City and beyond if they made the port bigger. Soon we had two businesses going on, the construction crew, and the importers. Building the ranch for Professor Oak took a really long time, so the construction crew built some housing for the people who didn't want to stay in tents or the barracks. The import crew liked the idea, and contracted the constructing crew for some houses too. More and more houses began to pop up. Then by the end of the first year of building the ranch we had a small town, which would later be named Pallet. Of course we needed more roads to make transportation easier, which is how we got the two routes for the town. Soon other businesses cropped up, and several of the worker's families decided to move in to be closer to their loved ones. Mom built her own restaurant here because the town never had one before. She loves anytime I can bring her back some new recipes from other regions. That's it, how my hometown came to be." By the time Ash had finished, the group had reached the middle of town. Roxy and Randy stopped to admire the quaint town. Everybody seemed to be so happy. It must have been a wonderful place to grow up.

But Ash wasn't as done as they thought. "So to answer your earlier question, nope the Professor doesn't own Pallet. However, without him we wouldn't be here. As far as I know there are only three people that work directly under the Professor. Sure some of the townsfolk take orders for him from time to time, but most of our business comes from transportation and tourism. Lots of people come over to visit the Professor's ranch. Plus, every trainer in Kanto has to come her to get one of the three starting Pokémon, and get their trainer's licence."

Roxy tilted her head in curiosity. "Does that mean Pikachu wasn't your starter Pokémon?" The duo was so close, plus Ash called Pikachu his partner. How could that be if Pikachu wasn't his first Pokémon?

"Actually, there's a funny story about that…" Ash began, but happily was interrupted.

"Ash!" A young woman with long blue hair called out. She waved excitedly from her front porch before jumping off. She ran up to the boy, but suddenly stopped as if she hit a barrier. "Oh, h-hello there Pikachu." The young woman edged around the Pokémon until she was behind Roxy and Randy, using them as human meat shields. Once she had suitable cover, the woman relaxed. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise," Ash replied while looking between the woman and his little buddy. Pikachu waved, but the woman tensed again.

"W-well like I said, it was good seeing you again. Delia sure has missed you." The woman edged a little further away, before bowing and making a hasty retreat. "Bye." She ran without looking back.

"Strange," Roxy commented. Randy nodded in agreement. Ash just sighed, like he was expecting this. He led the crew out of town, waving at the town folk he passed. The people all waved at the young trainer, but they didn't come closer. Some even restraining their children from coming up the group. With each person passed, Ash's Pikachu buried itself a little more into the boy's hair. By the time they were on the outskirts of town, Pikachu could barely be seen. The Pokémon only came out when the group was well out of sight of the small town. Finally, Roxy had enough. She tapped the raven headed trainer on the shoulder. "What in the name of Arceus was all that about?"

Ash scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Pikachu hid his eyes with his paws. "Um, well…You see…When I first got Pikachu he wasn't exactly the happiest camper. He's a lot better now." Pikachu looked up to nod in agreement. "But…back then he didn't exactly like me, I think he even hated me."

Roxy's jaw dropped open. Pikachu hunched in on itself. Ash tried to coax him out the ball, but the stubborn little thing remained hunched. Ash sighed, but continued his story. "We were on our way of town when mom popped with most of town. They had banners congratulating me on my first journey, music, and lots of encouraging words. It was awesome!" Pikachu perked up a little at that, and Ash was able to move his little buddy into his arms. He gave his partner a quick hug before continuing. "Mom handed me my traveling bag, but accidentally insulted him." Pikachu held down his ears over his eyes to get away from what he knew was coming next.

"Insulted him? It's not like Pokémon understand what we say. Commands and attacks sure, but most Pokémon grasp our language after years of being exposed to humans." Roxy told Ash, her hands on her hips.

Ash glared, causing the girl to falter. "Yeah, not all Pokémon can understand humans. However, some can! Some can even speak mind to mind with human beings. Plus all trained Pokémon understand just about everything. That's better than humans that can't even understand 1 Pokémon dialect. By the way Porygon was created by humans, so he already had the whole human language downloaded into his head. Plus most Pokémon in the wild are taught human speech in case they get caught by a trainer. And for your information Pikachu CAN understand every word you just said."

Roxy was taken back. She looked at Porgygon and Pikachu, who were staring at her. Pikachu was sparking, but Porygon looked like he was about to cry. "Porygon…" She reached for her partner, but he squealed and hid behind Ash. She met the trainer's eyes, and she could almost swear his eyes were burning with passion."

"Let me make this clear. Pokémon can understand human. It's humans that need to work on their language skills." His voice had turned positively icey from his fury. "Or at the very least, they should work on their empathy."

"S-s-sorry," Roxy stuttered out. The boy nodded, but his posture remained stiff. She looked at Randy, who was also frowning at her. She cleared her throat, and tried again. "I a-apologize. It was wrong to assume that your Pokémon was unaware. I shouldn't make assumptions on any Pokémon's intelligence."

Ash looked up, but Roxy could clearly see he wasn't completely mollified. "That's the problem with a lot of people. Just because we don't speak the same language does that mean humans and Pokémon can't understand each other. That's what Pokémon training is all about, trainer and partner working together for victory. Researchers like the Oaks study Pokémon to help get a better understanding. That way we can all work together. Assuming that Pokémon are inferior is no way to make a friend, or live together in harmony. It's that kind of thinking that leads people to join things like Team Rocket."

Roxy swallowed. The kid, no Ash had a point. "I'm sorry. I won't make that mistake again."

"Good," Ash told her. He then looked back at the pink Pokémon floating behind his head. "Besides I'm not the only one you should be apologizing to." Porygon floated out behind his cover. Roxy could clearly see the tear tracts on her partner's face.

She glanced at the ground, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry Porygon." The Pokémon squeaked, but hid behind Ash again. Apparently, an apology wouldn't be enough this time.

Randy cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "I promise we'll both work on being more respectful to the Pokémon while we are in yours, and Professor Oak's care. If not, then you would well be within your rights to end the interview." Roxy wanted to protest, but shut up when Randy glared at her. The silent message clear: You've almost blown it again. Be quiet and let me handle this.

"Fine," Ash ground out. Pikachu climbed pack onto his favorite perch, and the duo stomped away. Roxy followed meekly, Randy bringing up the rear. No one spoke for several minutes.

The tension was unbearable. Roxy scrambled for something to break up this suffocating tension. She remembered that Ash hadn't finished his story. "So, um what was it that your mother said? Um, you know when you were going to start your journey?"

Ash didn't stop stomping, but he answered anyway. "You know how you haven't seen Pikachu in his Pokéball yet?"

"Yes," Roxy replied quietly. She didn't want to mess up this anymore than she had.

"Well…Pikachu doesn't like the Pokéball. I haven't used one on him from pretty much the first day. Mom thought it was weird when he refused to go back in. Pikachu took offense, and shocked everybody. Me included."

Roxy stopped in her tracks. "Shocked?" She eyed the yellow mouse with apprehension. "Don't you mean eltrocution?"

Ash turned around, and finally let out a smile. "Maybe, but he's not like that anymore. He doesn't shock people just because he's mad." Pikachu crossed his heart with a claw, drawing a smile out of Roxy. Ash laughed again. He truly had the best friend in the whole world. "We've been together for every battle, every challenge, victory, and setback. He's my best friend, and he would never hurt anyone just because he had a bad day. People avoids us the first couple of days back. They don't want to get shocked again, and I can understand that. They'll change their minds. Pikachu is too awesome to hold a grudge against forever."

"Pikapi," Pikachu whispered. He gave his trainer a good nuzzle for being such an amazing friend.

Ash scratched under his buddy's chin. The secret spot that reduced his friend to a purring pile of mush. "Yup, it might've been a rough start, but we're the best of buds now. I may have had to drag Pikachu out of town with some rubber gloves and a clothesline, but now I know he would follow me to the ends of the earth. Just like I would do for him."

Roxy tried to hide a smile, but failed. She started to laugh, which made everyone chuckle too. Porygon floated over, and she hugged him. The digital Pokémon sighed in relief. Roxy petted him, and Porygon let out his own version of purring. All was forgiven. The group moved on, leaving their anger behind them.

When Roxy got ahold of her giggles, her curiosity began to peek out again. "Did you really drag your partner away by clothesline? How did you even up with a Pikachu anyway?"

The duo looked at each other and laughed. "It's a long story, and I think it'll have to wait till later. We finally made it." Ash told the crew with a smirk. He pointed to a building at the crest of a hill.

Roxy gasped in awe. The lab was made out of white stone, with a large red windmill providing the energy for the place. There was a gate leading up to the house, but what drew her attention was the terrain. The Oak estate stretched for miles. Roxy couldn't see an end to the tall fence separating the most famous Professor's territory from the rest of the world. Ash wasn't kidding about the Oaks wanting to provide home for their research subjects. You could easily house hundreds of Pokémon here, and she hadn't even seen how far the fences stretched! It was amazing.

She turned towards her companions that were also drinking in the sights. She focused on Ash and Pikachu. She made a resolution to herself. She was going to let of her past assumptions on how this interview should go. They were just getting her into trouble. She resolved to just run with Ash, instead of trying to control him. He had already shocked her several times in two days. No electric attacks from his partner needed. She wondered at what she could learn if she shut up and let him tell his stories. No more snarks, or trying to show him up. She would show him the respect he deserved as a person, not a guru. That seemed to be all he wanted anyway. She looked up at the Oak's residence with new determination. She would show everyone in this town with respect and dignity. Pokémon included, she revised. She would show everyone the proper respect. Porygon looked up at her, and she whispered her new resolution to her partner. "This do-over I'll get it right. For you and for me. It's a new start, and we're gonna show the world who we really are." Porygon wasn't designed to really smile, but Roxy just knew that's what the expression on her Pokémon's face meant.


	8. Professor Oak Gets Busted

Chapter 7: Professor Oak Gets Busted

Roxy huffed and puffed up the stairs to Professor Oak's. She was gratified to hear Randy panting behind her. Ash though, he was already at the top of the stairway, waiting impatiently for them. The kid had some amazing stamina. When they finally made it up the incline Ash rang the doorbell.

A surly looking teen opened the door, but blocked the entrance with his body. "Well at least you did manage to do something right Ashy boy. They look to be in one piece," he said while gesturing to the T.V. crew.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Of course. How's the Pidgey?"

Gary glanced over at Randy who had broken out his camera. "Fine," he drawled out. "Do I have to wait to talk in private, or are you going to spill the beans on international T.V.?"

Ash shrugged and grinned. Helping an injured Pidgey wasn't a secret. He didn't care if they filmed the Pokémon or not. "It's no biggie. We ran into my Pidgeot in the Viridian Forest, and she wanted us to help out cuz the little one had a hurt wing. I dropped the crew off at home, and met you all here. There all done."

Now it was Gary's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, and almost took my nose off in the rush. Think I'll hold onto to it this time so that there's no repeat performance. Come on in." The teen held open the door, and ushered them all inside. "I didn't even know you had a Pidgeot," the surly teen told Ash while closing the door.

"You wouldn't," Ash responded with cheek. He grinned when the other teen glowered at him. "You might have seen her a couple of times as a Pidgeotto. She only recently evolved when I had to release her. She's been the guardian of Viridian Forest ever since."

Gary raised an eyebrow, but swallowed the snarky comeback just at the tip of his tongue. "Well that explains a lot. The Pidgey's fine, recovering nicely according to grandpa. He's built himself a nest in the lab if you want to pick him up."

Ash started to run off when he remembered the rest of his party. He looked back and forth between Gary and the T.V. crew. "Meet you in the library?" He asked, his desire to check on the Pokémon evident in his restless movements. Gary nodded, and the boy and his partner were off.

Roxy looked around the house to dispel the awkwardness of being ignored. Not a feeling she was used to having. The inside of the home was nice. It wasn't overly fancy, but the materials of which it was made was clearly expensive. White stone made most the walls, the floors were made out of polished oak, and there several awards posted as decorations throughout the house. Overall Roxy found it to be quite tasteful.

Roxy's jumped when the other teen clapped his hands. She turned towards the unnamed teen who was smirking at them. "Now that the hellion is gone, introductions are in order. I'm Gary Oak, trainer, researcher, and fossil finder extraordinaire."

Roxy stiffened. Gary Oak? As in the grandson of Professor Oak? Oh boy, she thought that the teen was just some peon working for the professor. Roxy gave Porygon a good squeeze. It was a good thing she was feeling so self-conscious or she could've insulted another major player in her interview. She really needed to work on her assumptions about people.

While she was mentally chastising herself, Randy stepped up to the plate. "Hello there young master Oak." Gary twitched, while Randy hid a smirk by bowing. If she wasn't so worried about making a good impression she would've smacked the cameraman. He just loved to make everyone squirm. "The name is Randal Major, but everyone calls me Randy. The young lady beside me is Miss Roxy McClain. You may recognize her partner as a Porygon. Mr. Akihabara's prototype to be exact."

Gary forgot his irritation to gaze at Porygon. The Pokémon got a little embarrassed at the attention, and hid its face in his trainer's arms. "Interesting." Gary finally said after giving Porygon a long look over. Once he lost that searching look, Porygon relaxed a little. "Gramps is probably going to flip at getting to meet him. Dr. Akihabara has been incredibly stingy in letting other researchers study his creations."

Roxy smiled tentatively. "As long as he's gentle it shouldn't be a problem. Porygon gets a little nervous around strangers though."

Gary opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of another person. "Gary? I thought I heard the doorbell ring. Is Ash here with our guests yet?" An elderly gentlemen entered the hallway. He had silver hair, and a craggy friendly face. Roxy instantly recognized him. After all the man was on the television sets in just about every region of the world. Roxy's heart beat a little faster as she finally met the premier Poké-researcher of the world.

The researcher finally got a look at them, and smiled broadly. Then he saw Porygon, and Roxy didn't know a man of Professor Oak's age could move that fist. She blinked and the man was already face to face with Porygon. One hand sat at his chin as he looked the Pokémon over. Roxy was a little creeped out by the man's intense study, and she could tell Porygon was also getting nervous. She was about to say something when the man straightened with a smile. All of the intensity swept away, leaving a jovial older gentlemen. "How delightful for you all to be here." The old man greeted them warmly. Roxy blinked, thrown off balance.

If Professor Oak noticed their confusion, he ignored it beautifully. "My name is Samuel Oak, but most just call me Professor Oak. I see you've already met my grandson." Gary waved, causing Roxy to smile. "I don't see Ash, but knowing that boy he's gone to check on the Pokémon he brought in last night. Let's retire to the library then, shall we?" He motioned for the group to follow him.

Roxy was just starting to relax when the Professor asked her about the interview so far. She bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. Porygon looked up at her and chirped. She shook her head, and straightened her posture. Honesty was always the best policy. "It's been a bit of surprise actually."

"Oh? How so?" The Professor asked with a soft smile.

Roxy felt a little relieved. He didn't seem too mad, maybe she hadn't blow this thing after all. "Well…Ash isn't what I pictured at all what your source would like."

Both Oaks laughed at that. Ash always blew everyone's expectations, even when they expecting to have their expectations blown. The Professor was the first to recover when he asked his next question. "I knew that the world was in for a bit of a surprise. How did you take it?"

"Not well," Roxy admitted with a grimace. "I hadn't treated him very politely at first, and then I find out he's the very person I had come so far to see. I kinda accused him of lying, but he forgave me for it. Then I tried to cover it up today, and ended up pissing him off more."

Professor Oak patted her head consolingly. "Don't worry my dear. Ash is a very forgiving person by nature. As long as you apologize, I can guarantee he will let bygones be bygones. Plus, I feel like some of this is my fault as well." Roxy looked up at that. "I was so focused on keeping the rest of the world out, that I forgot to set up any kind of framework for this interview. It would be difficult for any reporter to sort out where the boundaries are, when they are not given any information. Relax my dear. We'll get this all sorted."

By the end of his speech the group had reached the doors of the library. Roxy inhaled deeply. The room they had been led to had two stories, connected by a staircase in the corner of the room. Roxy guessed the upper floor must be some kind of storage area. Bookcases lined the walls. She could smell paper even from the entrance. There were several comfortable couches and chairs situated in the middle. Roxy couldn't have picked a better setting for an interview. The Oaks gestured for their guests to get comfortable. Ash came in from another entrance. In his arms was the Pidgey from yesterday, looking much better.

"Hey guys!" Ash greeted. He set the Pidgey down on the table. Pikachu jumping down from his favorite perch to keep an eye on the baby. Ash found a comfy chair, and turned towards the rest of the group. Tracy came in carrying refreshments for both people and Pokémon. Ash was practically wiggling in his seat, just as eager to greet an old friend as to get at the food. He decided to do both.

Tracy started when an arm slung around his shoulders, and a hand reached down to the refreshments. "Hey Tracy, got anything good?" The thieving hand didn't wait for an answer, snitching a few of the fruit before Tracy could find a way out. A quick elbow to the gut seemed to get his glomped to back off. Once the tray was a safe distance away, he turned towards his assailant. Sure enough, Ash was standing there with an unrepentant grin on his face.

Tracy rolled his eyes. "Really Ash? Couldn't you have waited till our guests are served? You can't tell me your mom didn't feed you. It's how she makes a living." Ash's grin didn't diminish despite the scolding. Actually the teen seemed to pretty much be ignoring him. Too busy dividing up the food with Pikachu and the strange Pidgey. A pink floating bird like Pokémon gave Ash puppy dog eyes. The trainer reluctantly parted with more of his loot. Tracy shook his head, but then took a second glance. He couldn't remember seeing either of those Pokémon before.

Tracy shrugged it off, and turned his attention towards his guests. He gave the new arrivals his most friendly smile. The girl shyly acknowledged the gesture, the unknown man just nodded. Tracy placed the tray of food and tea on the coffee table. Once freed of his burden he made his introduction. "Hello there, my name is Tracy, Tracy Sketchit. Nice to meet you."

"Tracy here is my assistant." The Professor gestured for the young man to sit. Tracy spied a spot beside Gary. Once he settled, the Professor continued. "He works with me in the labs and out on the rest of the ranch. My grandson Gary," the surly teen tipped an imaginary hat, "is my leg man. In addition to his own research on Pokémon fossils, he graciously also goes out to gather data on various Pokémon for me."

"Like paranoid laser using Pokémon." Gary grumbled under his breath.

The Professor pretended he hadn't heard that. "Now for the T.V. crew. The young man with the camera is Randy Major. Derek told me you are one of his star employees."

Randy smiled, but didn't allow the compliment to distract him from filming the rest of the people in the room. He knew Mr. McClain was going to want footage of this meeting. He should probably outfit Porygon with his own camera too. The more angles the better. That was his own personal motto.

Professor Oak turned towards the young lady. He almost frowned at how shy the girl seemed. Had the lack of guidance really affected the intrepid reporter that much? "The other half of the crew is a star in her own right." The girl sat up, a new sense of confidence in her posture. Professor Oak smirked, ah there was that McClain moxie. He couldn't help teasing the girl a little, McClains were just too easy. "At the very least in the eyes of her father anyway." The girl pouted, but at least she wasn't hunching in on herself anymore. "Of course you already know who Ash and I are." The crew nodded.

"Good." The Professor then clapped and clasped his hands. "Then the next thing on the agenda should be some ground rules. Now I already set up some dos and don'ts with Mr. McClain…"

Ash interrupted. "Wait when did you do that? I've never heard anything about it."

The Professor sighed. "It was before I even called you Ash. I needed someone I could trust to handle this whole mess. Since the media got wind of this whole _'source'_ thing they've been calling me none stop. I actually had to pull out all my landline connections. I'm even screening calls from the Poké League. Several of the researchers just won't leave me alone. Even the G-men have tried to get involved." The poor beleaguered man pinched in between his eyebrows. He could feel a headache coming on.

"Why though?" Gary asked, for once dropping the sarcasm. "I get that seeing a Legendary is a big deal, but Ashy boy over there is not the first one to ever see one. Heck they seem to be popping up all over the place these days."

Ash perked up. "That's what I wanna know too! What's the big deal?"

Tracy pondered the dilemma for a spell. "Well you are the only person I've ever seen ride a Legendary, let alone touch one."

"WHAT?" Everyone turned towards Ash, who slunk in his seat.

"Ash when was this? I know that sometimes explaining all about your adventures over the phone is difficult, but surely we've had enough time to go over stuff when you come home?" The Professor seemed honestly hurt that he didn't have all the details of Ash's adventures. Ash slouched a little more into his chair.

"Other people have touched Legendaries too." Ash responded with a pout. Pikachu jumped into his lap, trying to cheer him up. "Pikachu rode on a Groudon once." The yellow rodent shrugged. He was more concerned that his human was in distress. The Pokémon completely ignored the rest of the room staring at him. He snuggled under Ash's arm, which finally put a smile back on the trainer's face.

Roxy's mouth was hanging open again. Randy made sure to get a few shots for posterity.

Gary didn't even try not to chuckle. Despite his mirth he managed to tease his former rival. "I think you just failed at being ordinary. A few years ago I wouldn't have thought it was possible. I guess your loserity level is increasing. You're even failing at being normal." Ash glared, Pikachu too.

"Seriously though," Tracy tried to play peace maker. "Most of the stuff Ash has told us about has been documented. Maybe his involvement is just now coming under scrutiny, but it still shouldn't be causing this much of a stir. Why is that?"

The men in the room turned towards Roxy for answers. She hesitated, but rallied. What better way to make up for her mistakes then by being helpful. "I kinda see what you mean, but some of it is your fault Professor."

"Me?" The Professor said shocked.

Roxy nodded, and then explain. "After every disaster the media is all over the authority figures and locals. It's all anyone can talk about for like 15 minutes. Then everybody moves on. However, Professor Oak makes news with every new discovery. His television show is played in just about every region. The fact that HE depends on the information of some unknown informant is mind blowing. Then add in the fact that you depend on his info about Legendary Pokémon, and of course the media is having a field day."

Roxy tilted her head. "I'm still confused on how Ash fits into all of this. Is he one of your assistants too?"

Oak grimaced, while the others laughed. "Not exactly. Ash is a trainer. Like any trainer who gets their license and Pokédex from me, they agree to let me have access to the data captured by the Pokédex. Not many people realize that the tiny device can instantly scan a Pokémon, calculating their weight, length, and even gender. That data is then transmitted to me, and in return my system provided a quick summary of the Pokémon. It's beneficial to both the trainer and researcher. Most of my colleagues across the regions have emulated the approach. Then once the data is compiled the researchers share their findings. It's led to many discoveries." Roxy waited for the professor to continue, but he man seemed lost in pondering.

"Um…, that still doesn't explain Ash." Roxy really didn't want to interrupt the man, but he seemed to have forgotten what the original question was.

Professor Oak started. He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. Even after so many decades of research, it still amazed how many mysteries still existed in the Pokéworld. He coughed to cover up his blunder. "Ahem, yes back to what I was saying. Ash is a trainer, but during his career he's stumbled across various Pokémon in his traveling. Some that were rare, Legendary, or just plain extraordinary."

"During one of those journeys I ran into Tracy." Ash said while making eye contact with the assistant. The two exchanged smiles. Pikachu waved from his place in Ash's arms.

"That's right. I had almost forgotten that. Ash brought home his friends after the Orange League, and Tracy decided to stay." Oak told the group while slamming his fist in his other palm.

"It was an honor Professor." Tracy assured his employer. "Plus it's allowed me to sketch several Pokémon in an almost completely natural environment."

Seeing Randy's and Roxy's perplexed expressions, Gary elaborated. "Tracy is an accomplished artist. His work is quite impressive."

Tracy blushed when the crew turned their attention towards him. "That's not entirely accurate. Yes I sketch, but my true occupation is being a Pokémon watcher."

Professor Oak nodded sagely. "Yes, and he's been absolutely invaluable in compiling several of my reports and lectures." The praise just made Tracy blush harder.

"This is fascinating," Randy drawled with what Roxy recognized as his most sarcastic voice. "However, I fear that we might be getting off topic." Everyone flushed crimson.

"Ahem, right of course." Professor coughed to try and cover his embarrassment. Maybe it wasn't just the T.V. crew that needed a little guidance? "When I first made arrangements with Derek, I mean Mr. McClain, I had some pretty strict rules. I suppose I should start there."

The rest of the room leaned in, their attention fixated on the Professor. "The first rule of the interview is that the setting is my ranch, or the Poké-corral." Roxy paled. They already had the first episode up for broadcast using the footage from the woods. She tried to tell the Professor, but he just held up a hand to cut her off. "Now I know that Derek has already put together some segments of the journey over here. He sent me the footage this morning. It's not the way I expected to reveal Ash's involvement, but it does lead to a statement of his character."

Ash wasn't sure if that last statement was a compliment or an insult.

"Regardless, it's done. However I would very much appreciate if Mr. Major's camera remains off outside of this premises. Specifically I wish to ensure that there will be no taping of the Ketchum residence, unless invited." The Professor looked up at the camera man with a glare. Randy gulped. "Their privacy is to be respected at all times."

Ash laughed, dispelling the tension in the room. "Don't worry Professor, mom made some good threats herself." Pikachu chuckled at that too.

"Your mother?" Tracy asked, his mouth agape. Mrs. Ketchum was one of the friendliest people on the planet in Tracy's eyes.

Roxy shivered. What was the old saying? Never stand between a mama Kangashang and her baby? "Yes. She was quite terrifying. She with her frying pan and her psychic backup."

The others looked confused, so Ash elaborated. "Mr. Mime guys." The room instantly relaxed. Truly it was a great day for Pallet when Delia made a friend, and gained a Pokémon body guard.

"Good," the elder Oak said with a smile. "We have Ash's private life covered. My next stipulation involved Ash's right to silence. If there is something he doesn't want to talk about, let it be. You are here on our invitation. We can always ask you to leave." The Professor let that threat lie for several moments.

"Third, the only news crews that I'll allow on my property is Pokéworld. I'm sure Derek has his own pull in the media, but I want my word on record. Any requests for interviews come to me first, no one is to go hounding Ash. If any type of media try to force themselves on my boy will be **DENIED** any future interviews from both myself and Ash Ketchum."

Roxy and Randy both shivered. The rest of the company may not full understand, but having Professor Oak in any kind of program always led to fantastic ratings. He was that famous. No broadcaster was going to risk getting blackballed from the number one money maker on the planet.

However, the Professor wasn't through twisting the knife. "Further, any attempts to circumvent these rules will lead to legal action. I will persecute anyone trying to infringe on the rights of my friends and employees. I have considerable contacts in various law agencies, including the G-men and the Pokémon Rangers. I have long been associated with providing information to both agencies, and a lot of that information has come from Ash himself. They would have vested interest in his continued well-being. Besides," now the elderly gentleman looked wolfish, "Ash has a few contacts in the G-men himself, yes?"

Ash frowned, but answered. "Well I've met both Lance and Cynthia but…"

The Professor cut him off. "I believe you can see we have adequate legal representation if our rights have been violated. Is that clear?"

The T.V. crew nodded in fear, Porygon included.

"Good," the Professor said with a satisfied grin. He settled back in his seat, for intents and purposes switching personas to that of a friendly old man. Roxy envied his ability, she had managed to adopt such an effective mask yet. "Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, Miss Roxy? I would like to know what you expect to get out this interview."

Roxy blinked. Wasn't that obvious? The elder just waved for her to continue anyway. "Well…," she licked her lips. "I guess I wanted to find out who the mysterious source was."

"And?" Gary said with a sneer. Ash and Tracy rolled their eyes. They were used to Gary being a jerk.

The Professor had more patience. He prompted gently, "after that my dear?"

"Um, I guess I wanted to know how he met all those Legendaries? Like you know, the who, what, when, where, and how? That kind of stuff."

"Is that all?" Ash asked incredulously. "Jeez. I can do that easy."

Professor Oak nodded. "It sounds like a splendid idea. However, I would add one little caveat. Sitting here in the library all day may get your interview done earlier, but it may not get all the answers you like."

Now Roxy was just plain perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Ash isn't much for sitting down and talking. Trust me on this. I've had years of experience coaxing out his newest experience from him. He'll answer your questions, but if he can he'll leave the storytelling to others." The Professor pretended to not hear Ash grumbling in the background.

"Then how do you get enough data for your research?" Roxy asked.

The Professor smiled a little mischievously. "Through a little trial and error. I've found that when Ash is doing something is the best time to ask for a tale. Another option is to surround him with Pokémon. Preferably his own. He makes a remarkable orator when giving his Pokémon a bed time story."

Ash blushed scarlet. Pikachu laughed at his partner. Ash pushed the Pokémon out of his lap. Pikachu just jumped back onto the table with Porygon and Pidgey. The three Pokémon stared at the trainer, and the teen just knew that on the inside they were still laughing at him.

The Professor was struggling to hide his mirth too. "To that end I propose you and the rest of the crew join us on a tour of the premise. It would also allow you to meet the rest of Ash's Pokémon as well. It should provide plenty of footage for your broadcast."

"Really?" Roxy couldn't contain her excitement. Filming the Professor's facilities would be the 2nd greatest scoop for the media ever. Combining both the interview and the tour would be legendary! "You wouldn't mind? Everyone knows how protective you are of these facilities."

"With good reason young lady. I don't want a bunch of people disturbing the Pokémon here. Plus I am also responsible for the safety of several Kanto trainers' Pokémon. That's not something I take lightly." The Professor then smiled before continuing. "However, I have often been hounded to show the media what I've got hidden out here. So in a way I'm just taking advantage of an opportunity to get some of the more nosy reporters off my back."

Roxy wanted to say yes. She REALLY did. It was just that she hadn't made the best decisions about the filming so far. Now one of the most trusted men in the world was offering a scoop any journalist would salivate over. If she screwed this up, it wouldn't just be her reputation on the line. It could also damage the Professor's reputation. She decided to come clean, and let the Professor decide if he wanted someone else to film his life's work. It would be embarrassing, but there was more than her pride at stake now.

"A-a-are you s-sure you want me to be the one you open your home to?" Roxy sputtered out. When she saw the Professor's confused look, she elaborated. "Cuz, because I've managed to screw this up so far. I let my assumptions blind me to who Ash really was. I insulted him. I-I didn't even let him finish introducing himself. I tried to cover over that today, by pretending yesterday didn't happen. It made Ash really uncomfortable. Then I made him mad." She didn't finish. How could she tell the Professor that she had called Pokémon stupid? Maybe not in those words, but she implied it. His whole work was all about understanding Pokémon. Ash was a trainer. Their whole lives revolved around coming to better understand the various Pokémon of the world, and she had insulted all that.

"You made him mad? Like that's even hard to do." Gary scoffed while rolling his eyes.

Ash bristled at the accusation. "Not everybody likes pissing me off like you do Gare-bear." The trainer smiles as he spotted his yellow partner started rolling on the coffee table. Even the baby Pidgey was trying to hide its chortles by pretending to preen. Porygon's eyes were crinkled.

Gary opened his mouth to retort, but Professor Oak raised one of his hands to cut him off. The sulky teen clipped his mouth together angrily. He sulked, and the Professor just smiled with affection. "I agree that sometimes Ash is easy to needle." The Professor ignored the indignant 'hey' directed his way. "However there are very few things that truly get him angry. What was it you said?"

Roxy shifted uncomfortably for several seconds. Reluctantly she raised her eyes to meet the Professor's. "I've said several unkind things in the past two days. The one that I really regret was implying that Pokémon are in some ways stupid. Incapable of understanding humans fully, and stuff…"

Several indrawn breaths were the only response she got. Silence descended upon the room. When she got the courage to look around she saw all the natives were staring at her like she was some kind of monster. She couldn't handle that. Instead she looked down at her new boots, noting that she already had managed to scuff the finish a little.

"Oh," the Professor finally managed to breathe out. Roxy waited for the other shoe to drop, but it seemed the man needed a bit more time to get his thoughts together. "Th-that is really something I never expected to hear from a young woman as highly educated as yourself."

Roxy sank a little further into her seat.

"That is the kind of thinking I expect from criminal organizations like Team Rocket or their fellow ilk. The idea that Pokémon are somehow just super powered tools. Ready to be discarded whenever they are not useful. Please tell me that is not how you feel about your own partner." The Professor pleaded.

That got Roxy's head back up. Of course she loved her partner. How could anyone doubt? Oh. Yeah they kinda had reason to, didn't they? "No that's not it. I love Porygon!" She looked over at the hovering pink Pokémon. "He's the best partner I could have ever hoped for?"

"But..," Roxy turned to look at Ash. The boy's face oddly serious. Or at least it always seemed to get serious when hurting Pokémon was involved. "Do you like him for himself? Or for what he can do for you?"

Roxy felt like someone had shot her heart out. She had to stop herself from checking for a bullet hole. It hurt. A lot. It also brought up several images from her past. Before she knew it she was babbling. "Did you know that Porygon was actually afraid of our house for a while? Especially after popping out from the internet. It got so bad that I had to carry my laptop outside to bring him back of the digital world. Then he would hover around the door of the home like he was looking for a bomb. I had to show him every nook and cranny of the house looking for anything combustible before he would settle down. It was just houses though. If we let him out in an office or an airport he was fine. I had to take over a storage closet in the studio, and make it a bedroom for a while. It took a couple of months for him to get over that. I know have a collection of different colored fire extinguishers scattered across the home. It's become a tradition. Visit a new place, pick up an extinguisher as a souvenir. Weird, but it makes him feel safe."

Roxy trailed off uncertainly. She didn't know if that answered Ash's question, but going by the smile on the kid's face it must have made at least a little bit of sense. She looked around and the other occupants seemed a little more relaxed now too. Randy met her eyes and nodded with a smile. A high pitched trill got her attention. There was her partner in front of her face, eyes crinkled in that way that she knew meant a smile even if he didn't have a mouth. She picked the normal-type up, and tucked him into her arms. With a happy squeal he settled in. It looked like she was forgiven.

The Professor was smiling broadly at the pair. "Well my dear, lucky for you Ash is a very forgiving person. And as you don't make that same mistake, I think the rest of us can forgive and forget that faux pas."

"Yeah, and you already apologized. Let's make a deal. You respect both people and Pokémon, and we can start all over. Deal?" Roxy looked up at that. Ash smiled at her, and shrugged. He didn't like to hold grudges anyway. Roxy couldn't believe at first. However, when Ash continued to smile at her it began to sink in. She was forgiven. She was given a second chance. A do-over was possible.

Roxy looked at the elder Oak, and nodded. She would take hold of her second chance. This time she wouldn't let them down. The new Roxy would make sure of that.

The Professor chuckled at her earnestness. She was taking this way too seriously. He thought back on a few anecdotes that might make her relax. "Besides it is not like the boy hasn't made a few blunders himself." Ash groaned at the teasing. The rest of the room broke into chuckles at over dramatic teen.

The boy from the Orange Islands couldn't resist. "I remember several instances of missing the proper boat. More than once we had to double back to a previous island because you'd accidentally turned the map upside down. Poor Lapras, transport, battle powerhouse, and the only who could actually navigate in our whole party. I think your whole Orange Island tour would've fallen apart without that Pokémon to keep us straight." Tracy smirked as Ash sunk further into his seat.

"Boy is that ever the truth." Gary couldn't help pouncing on a chance to tease his former rival too. "Ash gets lost all the time. He has ever since he was a kid. Drives even his own Pokémon crazy! Did I ever tell you all about all the times Ash's newly evolved Charmeleon toasted him? It was hilarious!"

Ash cut him off. "At least I didn't drive around in some ostentatious red sports car with my own personal cheerleader section!"

Gary blushes but never let it be said that the young Oak couldn't hold us own verbally. "Oh yeah? I'm surprised that you even know what 'ostentatious' means? Did your mom buy you one of those word-of-the-day calendars?"

"So what?" Ash yelled as he got in Gary's face.

"It's pathetic that's what!" Gary retorted. Sparks flew from the stares of both enraged teenagers.

"Now, now," the older Oak tried to pacify things. Even getting physically between both boys. "No need to get this upset. If we're trying to share funny anecdotes, I believe Ash's first day as a trainer would suffice."

Gary grinned maliciously as Ash let out another groan. "Not that one! Anything but that one!" The boy pleaded.

Tracy chipped in while ignoring the glare Ash sent his way. "This isn't a story I've heard before. I have to admit I'm quite curious."

The Professor tried to look innocent, but Ash saw the twinkle in his eye. "But the whole point of this whole affair is for people to learn about the ways you've affected my research. So how could I possibly leave the beginnings of our professional relationship?" The Professor outright grinned as Ash once again let out a groan, this one of defeat. He took that as tacit to continue.

Ash grumbled on his way back to his seat. "That's not the first time we've worked together. I've been running errands and other stuff since I was a kid. But does he want to start there? Noooo…" The teen dropped sullenly back into his seat. Pikachu dropped his food, and patted his trainer in consolation. At least there was someone in this room that was sympathetic.

"Was Ash's first day special in some way?" Roxy asked. She was a bit perplexed at the interplay between Pallet residents. It seemed that there could be more stories surrounding the perplexing trainer than she thought. "Did he meet a Legendary or something?"

"No. No"

"YES!"

Randy turned his camera to catch glimpses of both Ash and Professor Oak. The older Oak seemed perplexed with the young trainer. Ash just sulked in his chair, clearly not wanting to expand on his answer.

Professor Oak frowned at the boy. "You never said anything about meeting a Legendary Pokémon when you made it to Viridian City."

Ash snorted. "You were too worried about your dang pizza delivery to listen to me. You just said I imagined it. You said I was just imagining things. Even after the whole Eureka thing you never made the connection between that and what I told you."

The Professor promptly clicked his teeth together. He looked down at his shoes in shame. One of the reasons Ash didn't really talk about his experiences with Legendaries was the lack of belief he'd experienced from other adults. No one wanted to believe that a child could've interacted with beings researchers have spent their entire lives trying to get a glimpse of. There were even a few people that had gotten physically violent over it. Thank goodness for Ash's electric bodyguard. No one messes with the yellow mouse's trainer, and got away with it. Eventually Ash just stopped talking about it. Unless he caught Ash right after an incident happened, usually when he was too hyped to put his guard back up, then pulling the story from his was like pulling teeth. Unless you got Ash Ketchum to volunteer the information, you weren't getting squat. He was too stubborn.

Tracy didn't hesitate to ask for clarification. Gary was fidgeting in anticipation too, but he didn't want to admit it. "What Pokémon was it Ash?"

The teen waved his hand dismissively. "Keep in mind that it was a long, long, LONG time until I knew what it was that I'd seen. Practically right up until I saw it for the second time, but by the third time I was really appreciative. Then of course the fourth…"

"What was it dummy?" Gary interrupted.

Ash glared at his former rival, but he was seriously considering relabeling that relationship. "Ho-oh."

The other occupants in the room choked in surprise.

"Y-you really saw Ho-oh?" Tracy stammered out. He slumped when he saw Ash nod his head in agreement.

"Yeah, a few times actually." The raven headed trainer admitted. Sensing his discomfort, Pikachu jumped into the trainer's lap. The teen gave his buddy a few appreciative scratches while the others settled down.

Professor Oak shook his head in amazement. "You never fail to surprise. Even when I think I've got the whole story you turn everything upside down." Ash looked up at that. Not really sure if that was a compliment or not. A quick peek revealed the fond smile on the Professor's face. Ash looked away before he could embarrass himself, again.

"Well, that's fascinating and all. Let's get back to the matter at hand." Gary said imperiously. Directing the conversation back to his real interest. "After all the whole point of this to highlight Ash's dorkiness. Go on grandpa. Continue." He totally ignored the twin glares being directed at him from across the room.

"Ahem, yes, well…" the Professor tried to hide his chortle as a cough. "It was a bright morning in Pallet Town that marked the beginning of Pallet's annual trainer send off. That's when every trainer that's gained their trainer's license is invited to my laboratory to pick out their first Pokémon, and begin their journey."

Roxy contemplated this new information. "Does that mean that other towns have different days when they are invited to the lab?"

The Professor nodded sagely, and Roxy preened a little at the attention. "Yes. All children that are at least 10 years of age, have passed the needed courses to get their Poké-license, are invited over. Some cannot afford the trip, others have no interest in becoming a trainer, and of course there is the option of claiming a partner that is not of the 3 choices I give trainers. By this I mean Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander. Often the first Pokémon the trainer receives becomes a lifelong partner, and a real power house in battle. It's quite moving to see."

Gary pulled out a Pokéball with a blue tear drop on it. "This here is my first Pokémon. He might have started as a cutesy Squirtle, but by the time I was done with him he's become a powerful Blastoise."

"Really?" Roxy couldn't wait to get a shot of such a powerful Pokémon. It would definitely boost ratings. "You'll have to show me later. What Pokémon did you pick Ash?" She bet that her fan base would keel over to catch a glimpse of the Oak's source's most powerful Pokémon.

Ash pointed to the electric type reclining in his lap. "I told you already. Pikachu is my partner. He's been with me from the very beginning. Through thick and thin, and we'll keep going until we're the very best! Right buddy?"

The yellow Pokémon pumped his fist. "CHU!" He agreed.

Roxy tilted her head to the side. "But Pikachus aren't considered one of the basic Pokémon usually. They're electric types right? Even in other regions, it's customary for beginning trainers to choose between water, fire, or grass types."

"Ordinarily you'd be right. In this case though…Let's just say there a few extenuating circumstances." The Professor hedged.

Gary snorted. "By which he means that Ash was late."

"Not my fault." The embarrassed trainer mumbled. "My alarm clock broke."

"Regardless." The Professor glared at the two interrupting teens. "At the time we had four trainers all coming in for their starter. As the last Ash had to take whatever remained." The Professor hurried on when he looked up and saw Pikachu beginning to spark. He didn't appreciate at the implication that he was leftovers. "I had my reservations of course. I had just caught Pikachu not too long before I released him to Ash's care. He wasn't the friendliest creature at the beginning. I still have scars from all the electric shocks I received." The Professor and most of the others laughed at that last bit.

Ash rolled his eyes. "He should've left you a few more for manipulating us."

"Manipulate?" The Professor stood up in outrage. "I would never!"

Ash and Pikachu both rolled their eyes this time. The yellow Pokémon gestured for the human to speak for both of them. "Yeah you did. Even if you did it for the right reasons."

"Ash Ketchum I demand to know what you are talking about!" The Poké-prof's face had gotten very red.

Ash sighed. "Give it up Professor. We know. The whole being late thing was a set up. I had to be the last one so you could justify giving Pikachu to me."

Suddenly the Professor paled. His skin turning from red to white. He dropped heavily into his chair. "I d-don't k-nn-ow what yo-oo-u are implying. B-b-but…"

Ash cut him off. He was tired of the games. "Professor I get it. You couldn't say anything until the whole Celebi, Suicune, and time travel thingy. After all how could you explain that I had to get a wild Pikachu because you had traveled through time and seen me with one? Not a lot of people would have believed that. Mom probably would've never let me go on a journey after hearing a story like that."

Pikachu giggled at that, but the other people in the room were having very different reactions.

"Grandpa is that true?" Gary shouted.

Tracy was babbling incessantly to the Professor, but he was too shaken to really listen. Roxy was asking questions at high speeds. Even Randy was chipping into the confusion.

Finally the Professor pulled himself together. "Enough!" He shouted at the other occupants. He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his grey hair, before turning back to Ash. "H-h-how did you know?"

Ash shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. I was just kinda waiting for you to admit to it. You kind gave yourself away after the phone call, knowing the name of the time traveler even though we never outright told you. I didn't put it together at first, too busy trying to make the boat, and all that. However when Pikachu and I returned to Pallet there were two really big clues that cinched the deal."

Professor Oak sighed, but didn't deny the accusations. "What were they?"

"Tracy showed me one of the clues actually." The raven headed teen smirked as his friend panicked.

"Me? But I didn't know anything about working with a time traveler!" Tracy protested.

"That's true." Ash pretended to ponder this for a moment, before continuing with a twinkle in his eye. "However you did show me an old notebook belonging to the Professor. One that was decades old, and depicting Celebi and Pikachu sleeping side by side." Ash laughed as Tracy's eyes grew almost impossibly wide. The Poké-observer jumped out of his seat and ran up the stairs to the Oak's storage. The others could hear several loud thumps coming from above their heads.

After a particularly loud thump, Roxy just couldn't contain herself anymore. "Wait. Wait just a darn moment. Are you," she stopped to point to Ash, "and you", this time pointing to the Professor, "are seriously trying to tell me that time travel is a real thing? Seriously?"

"Yup." Ash grinned as Roxy turned to glare at him.

"Yes." Professor Oak affirmed when the girl looked at him.

"Not possible." Randy huffed. He could believe in powerful Pokémon, would cover plenty of stories about them, but no was there a Pokémon powerful that could bend time. It was just impossible.

"Celebi…" Gary pondered aloud. "Thought to be a grass type, possibly a fairy type under the newest classification system from the Kalos region. Also known as the Voice of the Forest. Legends claim that similar to Dialga, it has the ability to manipulate time."

"That's the one." Ash clarified. "We met Celebi who had accidentally taken a passenger to get away from a poacher." Then the teen turned sly to the still overwrought Professor. "Isn't that right Sam?"

The Professor sighed heavily before giving up. "Yes." He looked up at the ravenette, smiling wryly. "It's good to finally see you again old friend."

"I found it!" A voice called out from above. Tracy tore down the steps to rejoin them. He gleefully held out his hard sought prize. It was an older sketchbook, almost coming apart from old age.

"An old notebook?" Roxy questioned.

Tracy shook his head, flipping through the book for the real prize. "It's not the book. It's a sketch that proves it all. Ah-hah!" Tracy crowed triumphantly when he found the sketch. He turned it around for everyone to see.

On the page was a pencil sketch of two Pokémon sleeping side by side. A strange fairy-like creature was slumped against a very familiar looking electric type. They looked so peaceful, and Roxy privately thought the duo was adorable. Then she looked a little closer. The sketch was very old. The pages yellowing. It must have been several decades old. Could this be the time traveling Pokémon the Professor mentioned? It seemed way too cute to have such an awesome power.

Gary must have been skeptical too, because he couldn't remain quiet for long. "So the notebook is old. Most of the crap in this place is old too. Nothing special there."

"That's my point!" Tracy exclaimed holding the sketchbook to his chest, like it was a treasure. "It is old. Too old to have the exact same Pikachu in the drawing be alive today."

"Couldn't that just be a Pikachu that just looked similar to Ash's partner?" Randy pointed out.

Tracy shook his head in disagreement. "No. No. It couldn't. See the tail?" He held out the drawing again, and used his index finger to trace around the drawn appendage. "Every Pikachu's tail is slightly different. Just like the markings on their backs. It's like a person's fingerprints. I know this very tail very well. I have hundreds of sketches devoted to the owner of this tail, both from the Orange Islands, and the subsequent visits to Pallet Town. I knew this was Pikachu from the moment I saw the sketch I knew it was the same. I would happily submit my sketches to other scientific minds to prove it. Plus I remember I showed this exact sketch to Ash when…" Tracy paused to address his friend directly. "That's how you figured everything out right? I showed this drawing to you when you came home from Johto. Why didn't you tell me?"

Ash shrugged. "It was one of the big reasons I figured it all out. Not the only reason, but a big part of it. And I did tell you about it. I told you all about Celebi, and even when I met the Pokémon again in another adventure. As for why I haven't called the Prof out about it…I guess because I was waiting on him. Obviously he couldn't tell me about it before all this happened. It would've probably created a time paradox or something. Trust me. That is not something you want **EVER** happening. After that I really don't know why he didn't own up to it, but I guessed he had a good reason."

The boy looked expectantly at his oldest friend. The Professor sighed and dragged his hand over his face. Time to own up. "It's hard. Harder than you think to be gifted with future knowledge of events. For the most part I kind of shut the memories away. Not that I forgot Celebi or you. Never you. It was just easier to pretend I had gotten lost in the woods one day, than admit to being a returned time traveler. Not that I'm sure that anyone would have believed me. Then our timelines began to mesh up. I first became aware of the impending collision of events after I established my ranch here. I knew I had wanted to collect more information on Pokémon from trainers, but I couldn't expect children to stop and observe every new Pokémon that crossed their path. Then I remembered your Pokédex Ash. Kind of ironic really, being inspired by my own creation, but there you go." The Professor chuckled.

Roxy's eyes had grown to the size of saucers. This was incredible! And they were capturing it all on film. "So you created the Pokédex because you had seen the device Ash had, and wanted one of your own?"

The Professor waved his hand back and forth in denial. "No. No. Not at first. I just wanted some way to capture the images. At first the Pokédex was just a glorified camera! It took many upgrades and fiddling before it was even close to the devices I release today. My first step was to collect the images. As I studied the collected photographs, I began to be able to approximate weight, height, and other variables by the captured pictures. With the rise of the internet and personal computers I developed algorithms to quickly measure the size of the Pokémon in the images. Then I added a way for trainers to store the images on a network connected to each device, that way trainers wouldn't have to come to me drop the pictures off. From there it only made sense to add a way for trainers to see some of the data they have helped me collect. Then to turn the device into a type of identification. Then well from there it was pretty much the same Pokédex you can find on every trainer. With a few upgrades as the years have passed on."

The Professor jumped at the sound of clapping. He turned to look at an exuberant Ash. "That was awesome Professor!" Pikachu cheered as well.

Gary smiled smugly. "That's my grandpa!"

"Shucks." The older gentleman blushed. "Really it was just a series of logical decisions. Not that special, but it was a clue that I might be meeting my oldest friend. Or at least the events of Celebi's capture might be soon arriving. Although it was still quite a shock when another old friend of mine, one Delia Ketchum, had named her son Ash. I couldn't believe it. However as I watched you grow, I knew you and my friend from the future just had to be one and the same. And thus arose my greatest dilemma."

Roxy was practically vibrating in her seat. "What dilemma?"

"Well I couldn't just reveal myself as a time traveler, and tell Ash he was destined for a very unusual partner. I couldn't risk preventing Ash from meeting the younger me. Otherwise it could've spelled disaster for Celebi. There was also the problem that pretty much all of Kanto knew that I only give one of three types of Pokémon to beginner trainers. Plus that at the time I didn't have a single Pikachu residing at my ranch to give to Ash before his journey began. I was so relieved when on one of my walks I came across a wild yellowish Pokémon. I promptly caught him. Although I was very surprised when the little thing was not as friendly as I remembered."

At that comment Pikachu covered his eyes with his paws. A deep blush spreading across his body as he remembered how very rude he had been that day. Not even Ash's gentle prodding could get him to relax.

The Professor meanwhile continued on with his story. "That only solved one of my problems though. I still need to come up with a way to make sure Ash ended up with his destined partner. The solution I came up with was simple in execution, but would result in making the much younger Ash come across as very irresponsible…"

Ash shook his head at his two most trusted friends. "You told my mother not to wake me up didn't you? And to waylay if I woke up early right? I had always wondered why I kept crashing into things that morning."

The older Oak winced. "Ah, yes. Delia might have become a little enthusiastic in setting traps to prevent you from arriving early. Well, the important thing is that it worked. By causing you to be the last trainer out of four to claim a partner, guaranteed you couldn't pick anyone else other than a belligerent Pikachu. And no one be suspicious."

Ash snorted loudly, gaining the rest of the room's attention. "Plus it would give you the right to tease me about being late for the next year and a half."

The Professor winced again. "Sorry?"

Gary was more than a little put out. "You mean that it wasn't because Ash had a case of loseritus? It was all a set up?"

That was the final straw for Pikachu. Embarrassment or no, nobody messed with his human! He sent a tiny electric shock to the offending boy's fingers. The arrogant trainer/researcher yelped, and lost all acquired cool points when he stuck the shocked fingers Pinto his mouth. He glared indignantly when the rest of the room laughed, especially at Ash.

Ash held up his hands in surrender. "I didn't tell him to do that, but I'm not sorry he did."

"Boys." Professor Oak scolded. The two teens slunk back, not wanting to incur the older man's wrath. "Better, but I do wish you would both quit sniping at each other. Now, Ash is that all? Or did you have additional questions?"

"Yeah, I did. Why didn't tell you me who you were after the whole Celebi thing Sam?" Ash asked his friend. The rest of the room leaned in a little closer, eager to hear the answer.

The Professor sighed heavily. "It's not that I didn't want." He paused a moment before continuing. "I suppose I was afraid. Terrified actually, that if I told you we would lose this."

Ash's eyebrows rose as the Professor waved between the two of them.

"By the time you returned from Johto we had already established an amicable working relationship. If not the bond of a mentor/student. I didn't want to upset that delicate balance by bringing up the relationship of two boys both struggling to achieve their dreams, especially since I had long since left that boy behind decades ago."

Ash shook his head, and his partner did too. Pikachu shook one claw at the Professor in reproach, while Ash talked. "Really? I've known for years that the boy I'd met had already grown up into one of the most amazing men in the world! And has that really changed anything between us?"

Ash smiled as the astounded researcher was left agape. Seriously his mouth was hanging long enough for a Magikarp to have taken up residence in there. For a few seconds the man remained frozen. Then he began to laugh, and laugh, and let out a few hysterical giggles.

The man was brushing aside tears when he could finally talk again. "I suppose not. Really, I should be better prepared for all the surprises you throw my way. Yet every time you manage to throw me for a loop."

"It's just part of my charm." The teen responded cheekily. That drew a few chuckles from the peanut gallery.

"I suppose so, and I believe you have long since earned the privilege to call me Sam. It was how I first introduced myself after all." The Professor smiled in response to the beaming grin that he could see on his oldest friend. Then Sam turned to the other occupants. "Does that answer everyone's questions?"

"Of course not!" Roxy blurted out, and hurried on when everyone turned to look at her. "We still don't know what happened with Celebi. We know it has to do with time travel, but what do you mean by 'Celebi's demise'?

The Professor nodded sagely. "Well that is a long, complicated story. Ash if you will?"

The teen blinked owlishly at the man. "Me? Why should I tell it? You're the resident time travel, well at least at that time."

"I believe that it might be best, because that this is **YOUR** interview." The Professor reminded Ash.

The trainer just flapped a hand at him. "But you were there from the beginning. I came in later. You tell it."

Now the older Oak was starting to get annoyed. "Ash…"

The imp grinned at him. "Tell you what, if you tell the story I'll tell you what cinched the deal for figuring things out."

"Wasn't it the picture?" Tracy asked from his recently reclaimed seat.

Ash shook his head in denial. "No-pe!"

Gary cocked his head bemusedly. "Then what was it?"

Ash just grinned but refused to divulge.

Sam sighed in defeat. He certainly seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Must be because Ash was home. "Alright. You win. Your secret for mine. I guess I should begin over forty years ago, when I visited the tree house city of Arborville.

* * *

 _I'm back folks. Sorry for the long wait. I was sick for a long time after Thanksgiving. Then I had to catch up on work, shopping, doctor visits, etc. I hope this chapter was worth it. For my faithful readers let me ease your fears. I never abandon a fic. It just might take me awhile to get back to it._

 _*Side-note, does anyone want a short story on how Delia booby-trapped her home on the beginning of Ash's journey? I think it could be pretty funny!*_


	9. A Tale Of Time Travel Part 1

A Tale Of Time Travel Part One

 _For future reference I think of Celebi as a fairy type. I mean that Pokemon is very similar to Xerneas, with a blessing from Dialga to allow it to time travel. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Enjoy._

* * *

Roxy's mouth hung wide open. Randy had to nudge her with his foot to remind her of the still rolling camera. "Tree-houses? For real? Like the things that kids use to make organic retreats? Or wooden fortresses? Cuz I can totally remember something like happening when I was a kid."

Gary laughed out right before teasing the reporter a little. Why not after all? He teased everyone else. "Let me guess yours had a big banner with the words 'NO BOYS ALLOWED'."

"Yup." She agreed and then grinned. "Except for my dad, because my dad is awesome!"

Professor Oak chuckled. "Yes. Yes. The whole town is made up of a conglomeration of tree houses. They are very much in tuned with nature there. Which is why so many of their local legends feature the mysterious being known as the Voice of the Forest."

"Celebi," Ash clarified.

"Yes. Quite." Oak agreed, before continuing with his tale. "As a young lad, I was quite adventurous. Always looking for new things to sketch. I decided to look for inspiration in the forest. At the entrance I was accosted by a young woman that guarded the entrance. I believe we later encountered her daughter?"

"Granddaughter," Ash corrected.

Professor Oak nodded. "Yes. The gatekeeper's name was Towa. She warned me of the phenomenon known as the 'Voice Of The Forest'. According to the young woman, a spirit that protected the forest let out a strange sound right before it time-traveled. If you heard a weird sound you had to remain completely still, if the spirit caught you then you might find yourself in a different time."

Randy stopped to pan the camera around the riveted faces of the audience to the Professor's tale. Ash seemed wistful, his partner too. Tracy's eyes were huge. Gary had his arms crossed, a skeptical look on his face. The Pokémon were riveted on the tale. Roxy looked like a little kid at Christmas. It made Randy smile. He focused on Roxy when she made an educated guess.

"The spirit of the forest…That was Celebi wasn't it?" Ash and the Professor nodded.

"Yes. Celebi has the unique ability to infuse life into forests. As you know, forest environments are home to a wide variety of Pokémon." The Professor glanced around to see his audience were nodding in understanding. "Thus the local Pokémon often see Celebi as a hero or a savior. If something is wrong with their home, then comes Celebi to restore what was lost. As such they can be very defensive against humans trying to capture or hurt Celebi."

Gary grinned as he came to a new conclusion. "In other words, it's not just Celebi's attacks you have to worry about. Most of the local Pokémon will attack anyone going after getting in Celebi's way."

"Legendaries too." Ash butted in. The rest of the room turned to look at him. The boy just shrugged. "Succine, two of them actually, Entei the real one, and Raikou got pretty testy when someone threatened Celebi."

The Professor frowned. "I only saw Succine in our adventure. Where their other Legendaries I just didn't see?"

Pikachu hopped onto the coffee table. He shook his head vigorously no. He held up two claws. Ash translated for the groups. "No. We're talking about the second time we met Celebi. The whole Johto trio…" Pikachu cleared his throat and looked pointedly at his trainer. Ash blushed, and began again. "Rather 3 Shiny version of the trio showed up in Crown Town to protect Celebi." He waved one of his hands in exasperation. "A lot of stuff happened, but we stopped that Kodai jerk, and saved Celebi again." Then partner and trainer grinned at the rest of the room like they hadn't just dropped another bombshell.

Roxy was practically vibrating out of her seat in excitement. "Does that mean you were there when Rowena released her exclusive on the corruption of the business magnate Kodai? That story won her a Pulitzer among other awards!" She continued to gush for several minutes on other accomplishments of the reporter. The rest of the room watched in bemusement.

When Roxy calmed down, or more likely noticed the others staring at her, she blushed. She sank back into her seat, and pretended to cough. "Ahem. Yes. Rowena has my highest regard, and you say that you know her."

Ash and Pikachu exchanged knowing smirks. The Pokémon jumped back into his trainer's lap. Ash cuddled him before answering. "Yeah, we do. Me, Pikachu, Dawn, Brock, and those reporters Rowena and Karl prevented Kodai from stealing some of Celebi's power. It would've also destroyed all the plants in the area again, if he succeeded. Celebi is kind of a damsel in distress, at least whenever we meet up with it."

While the room broke out in chuckles, the Professor got up. He crossed over to Ash. He glared for a few minute before bobbing the boy on the back of the head. "That is so disrespectful I don't even know where to start. Celebi is one of the few examples of Pokémon that can restore nature when disaster hits. It provides homes for millions of Pokémon all over the world, and with its power to time-travel all over time! And let me remind you mister, that Celebi is one of only three Pokémon in all of history that has the ability to control time. Which puts it right up there with Dialga and Arceus. Do you understand?"

Ash rubbed his head. Pikachu's ears had drooped. Together they seemed pretty ashamed.

"Sorry."

"Pika."

The Professor glared for a few minutes more before relenting. He nodded in acceptance. "Good. I would also like to mention that is thanks to our encounters with Celebi that has led to the discovery of a new type of Pokémon thanks to one of my colleagues in Kalos. The Fairy Type."

"What is that Professor?" Roxy asked as the older Oak returned to his seat.

Once he was settled, the Professor addressed his audience. "It is a fairly new announcement in the scientific community, and still being heavily debated upon. The best summary I can come up with is that this type focuses mostly on defensive and regenerative skills and moves. They are resistant to many fighting, dark, and bug type moves, and when they move to the offensive most of their attacks are super effective. For right now Celebi is classified as a grass/psychic type, but I'm sure that it will be added to this classification in later upgrades to the Pokédex. In addition there are several legends about Fairy Types restoring the world after major catastrophes. While the tales about Xearneas alone would give credence to…"

"Grandpa, we are getting off topic." Gary reminded the Professor before he could get into one of his scientific ramblings.

The Professor blushed. "Yes, of course. Where were we?"

"Entering the forest, and being warned about Celebi." Tracy supplied while smiling at his employer. He had suffered through several of the Poké Prof's ramblings.

"Yes. Right. Mistress Towa was warning me to be still so that Celebi wouldn't drag me into a trip through time. Probably a good thing I didn't listen, or at very least forgot in all the excitement."

Ash recovered his cheekiness at that comment. "Yeah, back then you were kind of head strong weren't you?"

Professor Oak pointed right at the young trainer. "You have no right to say that to me. When you are just as bad."

Ash just grinned.

The older man huffed. Partly in amusement, and partly in exasperation. "As I was saying. Mistress Towa offered her warning. I decided to go in anyway, but I promised to be careful. I wanted to sketch some of the Pokémon from the region. It was my first visit to the Johto region after all, and I wasn't going to let a little thing like an old legend scare me off. I was just about to enter the forest proper, when the young lady (then anyway) offered me a loaf of bread loaded with cream and berries."

"Yeah, that was some great bread." Ash reminisced, while Pikachu patted his belly and sighed.

"I can't believe you." Oak grimaced in distaste. "Why would you eat bread that your host had just finished telling you was at least 40 years old?"

The rest of the room gagged, but Ash just laughed. "But according to your timeframe you had just gotten it earlier that morning. Ergo it was perfectly edible, and turned out to be delicious. We totally should have let Mrs. Towa make us some before we left Arborville. Plus…didn't you eat it too?"

The Professor rolled his eyes, and continued. "Regardless of the freshness of the bread, the gatekeeper offered some to me. I took it with me, and traveled inside. Saw some interesting Furrets. I had just settled down to sketch out some Bellossom I found, when Celebi came flying through. It was being chased by a Houndoom and one mean Scyther."

Roxy tilted her head to one side. "Sketching? Are you some kind of artist Professor?"

The elder puffed his chest in pride. "Yes. Actually. I still have some of my old sketchbooks around here somewhere. It's come in handy in compiling the algorithms in the Pokédex to judge the size of Pokémon out in the wild. I also believe it is one of the reasons I believe Tracy and I get on so well."

Tracy blushed at this admission. It's amazing when your idol gives you a compliment. "I'm a sketch artist as well as a Pokémon watcher. Working for the Oaks has been a dream come true for me."

Ash got up to sling arm around his friend. "And from what the Professor tells me, he couldn't ask for a better assistant." Pikachu jumped on to the table when Ash got up. Then from his perch on the table voiced his agreement. Gary bumped shoulders with the artist to give his silent support. This of course just made Tracy blush harder.

When everyone moved to settle down, Roxy offered a suggestion. "Maybe later we could get some examples of both of your work." She pointed to the two artists, who both nodded in agreement.

"Celebi flew right past me, and was quickly followed by two other Pokémon. Of course at the time I didn't know it was a Celebi. I just knew it was a green Pokémon with fairy wings, and that it wasn't doing too well against two opponents. So I gathered my stuff up, and ran after all of them." The Professor paused to take a deep cleansing breath. "When I caught up to the trio, the Scyther had Celebi pinned. Houndoom loomed over the smaller Pokémon growling. I screamed at them to let it go, that two against one wasn't fair. Houndoom took offense, and threw a flamethrower attack at me. Luckily, this gave Celebi the distraction it needed. It used its command over the forest to tangle up Scyther and Houndoom. It tried to fly away, but it was exhausted. I caught it right before it could crash. That's when I met the poacher that was commanding those two brutes."

Roxy interrupted with a question. "How do you know it was a poacher?"

The older Oak grimaced. "I know because the man boasted about it to my face. He told me all about his plan to catch a rare Pokémon like Celebi, and sell it to the highest bidder. Come to think of it, that's how I learned Celebi's name. I may have just been a kid back then, but I knew his plan was wrong. So I skedaddled out of there. Of course the guy couldn't just let us go. He threw some electric trap at us, and when that didn't work he chased after us with a motorcycle. He was closing in, when Celebi and I stumbled across a small shrine. I tripped, dropped my sketchbook, but somehow managed to keep ahold of Celebi. Poor Celebi screamed, and then there was this wave of sound. A bright light enveloped us both, and then we slipped the time stream."

"And that's where I come in!" Ash proclaimed proudly. Pikachu was obviously excited to. He jumped onto Ash's shoulder, and then onto his head. Thus smushing Ash's hat onto his trainer's face. Ash just laughed, and straightened the ball cap. He rubbed his hand over his partner's cheeks.

Roxy marveled at their close bond.

"Now where to begin?" Ash pondered for a second, and then grinned. "I think it should begin like any good story, with an awesome Pokémon battle! Misty, Brock, and I with all of our Pokémon were journeying through the Johto region. Amazing place. I can't tell you how many new friends we made there. Anyway, we were waiting to get on a ferry when I was challenged by the supposedly strongest trainer in the town."

Gary snorted. "Supposedly? I guess that means you kicked his ass then?"

Ash grinned at his old friend/rival. "Oh Yeah! But how did you know it wasn't a girl trainer?"

Now it was Roxy who snorted. "Most female trainers have more class than to claim such an obnoxious title."

Ash and Pikachu exchanged blinks. They didn't get it. Ash shrugged it off, and continued the story. "So of course we accepted the challenge. I picked Pikachu for a one on one battle. My opponent had a Corona, with some pretty strong water gun attacks. Of course those don't do you any good if you can't hit your target."

"Like that really matters." Gary said while rolling his eyes. "Even if it hit, Pikachu is an electric type. It would hardly do any damage."

"Type's not everything Gary!" Ash claimed hotly. Pikachu's cheek began to spark in irritation too.

"Whatever." Gary sneered. Ash continued to glare until the Professor nudged Ash to continue the story.

"Fine." Ash bit out, still a bit annoyed. "I was excited because it was my first time battling one of those. I had a Totodile, but like everyone knows those are the same things. Pikachu charged into battle, using double team. He got in close, and gave the larger Pokémon a head-butt. However, the water-type used water gun to push him away. Pikachu shook it off, and moved in. Croconaw then tried to use its claws, but Pikachu was faster. He avoided the attacks, and jumped on its head. He then began to charge up to finish the Pokémon off. Except Croconaw panicked, and shook him off. My buddy went flying before he could shock the opponent. The Corona couldn't afford for Pikachu to use its electricity, so he let out stream after stream of water, trying to hit Pikachu. While my little buddy here," he paused to pet his partner. "Just ducked under the attacks, or jumped over them. Getting desperate Croconaw tried to use crunch. Instead Pikachu head-butted him, and sent the blue Pokémon flying right into its trainer."

Roxy was riveted. "And was that it?"

Ash and Pikachu grinned at her. "Not quite. Croconaw could still have gotten up, so I had Pikachu use on of its electric moves. We didn't want to hurt them, so it was just a thunder shock attack. We miscalculated, and both trainer and Pokémon got shocked. They were okay though." Ash hurriedly added on.

The room erupted in chuckles. Tracy recovered first. "What happened then Ash?"

"Well…in the fervor of battle I kind of forgot about the ferry. Luckily Brock and Misty were keeping an eye on things. Brock let loose his Crobat to come let us know about the ferry leaving. We would have make it for a bit of bad luck. A huge trailer with several carts blocked us in. We had to jump from the platform onto a moving ferry. Brock tried to reach us, but luckily one of the other passengers had longer arms. He kept us from falling into the river, and thus met the guy who would lead us into another adventure with Legendary Pokémon. His name was Mr. White." Ash admitted sheepishly.

"Wait. Wait. Hold the phone." Roxy waved her arms in exasperation. "I need a little more clarification. Who are all these people?"

Ash blushed. "Oh, I should backtrack a little, huh? Brock and Misty are my oldest friends."

That made Gary very angry, and he wasn't going to let that stand without a fight. "What am I then?! Chopped liver?"

Surprisingly, Ash didn't get mad at the interruption. "According to yourself, after the split Pokéball thing we weren't friends. We were rivals, and not the nice kind. Plus, you made sure that everyone in town knew it. It wasn't until the Silver Conference you called me a friend again, and only because I beat you."

Gary opened his mouth, but nothing came out. A blush spread from his neck, and up to his hairline. It seemed the great Gary Oak was speechless.

Ash took pity on him. "Of course that was by **your** definition. To me you've always been both a friend and a rival. It's just that you've been less annoying since the silver conference." Pikachu who had been neutral during the fight, reached over to pat Gary on the knee. Silently telling the trainer that his friend had forgiven him. Ash nodded when his partner turned back to him, making sure that he'd made the right call.

Professor Oak smiled softly at his two favorite boys. He had always hated that their friendship had fallen apart. So he was overjoyed to see them getting along now. Plus the banter was amusing.

Ash shook his head. "Enough of the mushy stuff. I was trying to tell you all how awesome Misty and Brock are. I met Misty on my first day as a Pokémon trainer. I kind of made her mad, and she decided to follow me until I paid her back. Eventually, we became really good friends. I met Brock while trying to earn a badge at the Pewter City gym. He was the gym leader there, after I beat him he decided he wanted to journey with us. He wanted to be a Pokémon breeder, and he couldn't fulfill that wish by just staying at the gym. Now he's studying up to be a Pokémon doctor. Funnily enough, we found out later that Misty was a gym leader too, but she had dreams that required her to expand her horizons a bit."

Roxy stared at Ash. "Are you telling me that just because you beat them, two Indigo League gym leaders decided to abandon their gyms to follow you on a Pokémon journey?"

Ash laughed really hard at that. When he caught his breath, he tried to explain. "No. No way. It's a lot more complicated than that. You see both Brock's and Misty's entire family own the gyms. Their parents were the original gym leaders, but left their children in charge when they were old enough to handle it. While Brock and Misty are the strongest trainers in the family, their siblings and parents run most of the day to day. Well, they did. Brock's dad runs the Pewter City gym, but I hear his brother Forrest is gaining strength. He might become the next gym leader soon. Misty's three other sisters used to run the Cerulean City gym, but they needed her to come back to run things. She's running it most days now, but back then she had more freedom to travel."

"Sounds complicated." Roxy told him, still a little confused. "What are they like then, this Misty and Brock?"

"Amazing," Ash told her with a smile. "Misty is passionate and fierce. She's on her way to becoming a Water Pokémon Master. She's a mix between motherly and combative. You do not want to get on her bad side. She once raised this Togepi, although technically he should have been mine, from its hatching to when it evolved into a Togekiss. Now that little troublemaker is a guardian for other Togepis and Togekiss. Which is why I told you she can be motherly, but on the flipside she's a bit of tomboy. She's athletic, and really competitive when it comes to water sports. Despite being a water specialist, she's always interested in what new Pokémon I've brought with me from other regions. When this interview is over, I had better take some time to introduce her to my new friends from Unova, or she'll scalp me."

Despite the statement, Ash was still smiling. "Now Brock is like the older brother I never had. Guess he's had a lot of practice with all of the siblings he has. He's an awesome cook. I mean incredible. I have this friend I met in Unova, a Pokémon connoisseur, who would just flip over some of the dishes Brock can make. His only problem is…that he has to flirt with every pretty girl he meets. I mean every single one. It gets so bad that it's not just my friends that pull him off the unlucky girl, but even his own Pokémon get offended. I'm pretty sure his Croganuk actually enjoys jabbing him in the gut to make him stop."

Roxy wasn't sure what to say to that. "That is…"

Lucky for the humans, Pikachu knew how to express what they weren't saying. With a dramatic sigh, the Pokémon pretended to faint. He sprawled all over the coffee table, one of his legs twitching. Porygon and Pidgey checked to make sure the yellow rodent was okay. Pikachu grinned, and grinned while remaining spread out. The other Pokémon chuckled, the humans too.

"Yeah…I might give them a hard time, but they really are the best friends you could ask for. I love my other friends, but those two have seen more and helped get me through more trouble than anyone else. Except for Pikachu of course." Said Pokémon quit playing dead, and jumped back into its trainer's lap. "Really, this adventure was a real anam-ana-anomaly, that didn't want to come out. A real anomaly because they stood on the sideline for a lot of the action. Usually, they were right in the thick with me."

Oak protested that statement. "That's not true Ash. They helped."

"Of course they did." Ash said, but he had a point to make. "They always do, but I'm just saying this adventure was unique in that it wasn't one of my traveling companions that stood and fought the bad guy. Instead your younger self took up the role."

The Professor blinked. "Oh."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Oh. Can I get back to the story?" He looked around the room to make sure everybody was listening. "Good. Cuz we were just getting to the good part."

* * *

Hi. (Ducks for cover in case of thrown tomatoes.) Sorry it's taken so long to update. Real life kind of got in the way. Then my beta is also having trouble. On the positive side, I spent the time collecting every Pokémon movie released so far. Now I have a general outline of how I'm going to tie in everything. I'm hoping that it might make it easier to update. Can I also say that I loved the new Hoopla movie? Or at least it's premise? There were so many plot holes though. Sighs. I think I'm going to have to write up my own version of that movie. Maybe I can tie it in with how I plan to end this fic. It also looks like the movie write ups are going to have to be in multiple chapters. They're just too long. Oh well, it all work out in the end. Stay tuned for the update, it should be up within a few days.


	10. A Tale Of Time Travel Part 2

A Tale Of Time Travel Part Two

 _So I have no excuse. Good news? I have lots of new ideas to write out. Now it's just a matter of getting it all down. I think I've also figured out these movies. They are going to have to be in parts. Sorry. There's a lot in there to cover. On the plus side that means lots and lots of chapters. So here's part two, and I promise I'm working on part 3._

* * *

Ash popped his knuckles in anticipation. "Now we get to the more exciting bits. When we left out I told you about meeting Mr. White. Turns out he owned a raft/glider service, and he offered to give us a ride to his hometown Arborville. He told us all about several unusual Pokémon that you could find in the forest nearby. As we were talking, my little buddy spotted something off in the distance. I turned to look, and this blue Pokémon with a majestic purple mane was staring at us. The light made it look like it was made of crystal."

"Succine." Randy breathed.

Ash grinned. "Yup. It wasn't the first time I had seen that Pokémon. In fact I'm pretty sure that one could give an Absol, a run for its money in predicting trouble. It always seemed to show up on my Johto journey right before I had an encounter with one Legendary Pokémon or another."

"That's ridiculous." Gary countered, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Absol bring catastrophes, which is why they are known as the disaster Pokémon."

The older Oak shook his head, and raised a hand to cut off Ash before he could respond. "That's not accurate either. It was **assumed** that because there was an Absol howling right before several catastrophes that they were the cause. Now, we realize that most Absols have a measure of prophetic ability, and were trying to warn both people and Pokémon of approaching danger. I've had many academic debates with other researcher on changing their title in the Pokédex."

"Really? Is that true?" Roxy asked the room. Gary looked disgruntled. Randy and Tracy just shrugged. The Professor nodded, and the Pokémon looked bored. Ash though, his eyes were blazing with an inner fire.

"I know it's true." He told the others. He didn't raise his voice, but the room was captivated all the same. The words might have been quiet, but they burned with passion. "I've met several upon my journeys. Not a single one has ever been vicious or cruel. Instead they are defenders for those they have chosen to protect. I met one who was the guardian of Forina."

It's a relief when Ash's somber attitude is broken by a familiar grin. Roxy relaxes a bit. A serious Ash is kind of hard on her nerves.

"He was fierce, and incredibly strong. Most Pokémon don't like to leave their territory, but this Absol tracked a stolen charge for months just for a chance to get them back! And from what I've seen? That's the rule for Absols, not the exception. They're not heralds of disaster." Ash snorted, which made his partner giggle. "They're more like misunderstood guardians."

Tracy clapped his hands together. "I've got it! Instead of the Disaster Pokémon, Absol should be called the Guardian Of Portents!"

"Huh?" Ash looked at his friend like he was crazy.

Not like that would stop Tracy when he was on a roll. "You know portents, omens, warnings, fortellings of natural disasters and such. Absols are slightly prophetic. So they get portents. Instead of doing nothing about what they see, they make sure to warn the inhabitants. Ergo they are also guardians. So put them together and you get a Guardian Who Uses Portents, or Guardians Of Portents. OrmaybeGuardiansOfOmens,butIthinkGuardiansOfPortentssoundbetter. Whatdoyouguysthink?" He finished in a rush, not noticing when his words began to blend together.

Professor Oak was well used to Tracy's rambles when he got excited. So while everyone else was still trying to catch up, the Prof was already considering his assistant's arguments. "I think you are onto something there. I definitely agree that the entry on Absols need revision. So far Guardians Of Portents sound a lot more accurate than calling any Pokémon a Disaster."

Gary didn't agree. "No way. It's too long. What about the Portent Pokémon?"

"Cool. I like it." Ash settled back into his seat with a sigh. "Does that mean that in the next update we should expect the Absol entry changed?"

"If not the next, then the one after." He assured the trainer. Then the Professor laughed unexpectedly. "By the end of this, I expect several entries will have to be updated."

Roxy was torn. This was all so interesting, but, but…"I hate to interrupt, but we are getting off track. Again."

Ash scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Yeah. That seems to be happening a lot. Okay. Right. Succine. I'm pretty sure it was the same one that I kept running into right before I met a Legendary Pokémon in Johto. Like the time with Raikou, but that's another story. So there was Succine, being all majestic. Right before he ran off into the forest. You know that really should have been my first clue that trouble was on the way." Ash paused to consider that for a moment. "Maybe on some level I did know that, because when Mr. White, the guy who kept me from falling into the river, offered to show us his hometown I jumped at it. After all, he did tell us that we could find all sorts of unique Pokémon in the forests nearby. We got to our next stop, and Mr. White took off to get the transport to his home ready. Meanwhile my friends and I decided to check in with the Professor."

Roxy raised a hand to get Ash to pause for a sec. "Why? I get that the Professor is an old friend, but it sounds like checking in was a part of your daily routine."

Ash blinked, and answered. Was it really that weird? "It was. He has the best communications set up in all of Pallet. Mom's got a video phone, but it can't always connect with the phone set ups in other regions. Professor Oak's always does. So if I can't reach mom, he can do it for me. Besides, how else would I get paid?"

Roxy froze. She had just stumbled upon a goldmine of information. Oh, the absolute scandal! Ash's information on Legendary Pokémon wasn't being offered, but paid for? That means other researchers could also have been let in, for the right price. Had Ash also worked with other researcher? Or did the Professor have a monopoly. If she played her cards right, this might turn into a series of news reports, instead of a just one and done. She need clarification. Pronto. "Paid? Are you saying that the Professor Oak regularly pays you on your Pokémon journeys for information?"

Ash frowned at the continued questioning. Why was she so interested? "Sort of. The Professor pays out to several trainers for updating the research on the Pokédex. Each Pokédex is connected to the Professor's network. The machine measures the Pokémon through the camera, and then that data is sent to the Prof. That way it stays current, and more accurate I guess. Trainers get paid for how much they update the system. I just happen to run into more Pokémon than most. Now a days it's just habit to check in whenever I reach a new destination." He stopped to grin at Professor Oak. "Plus he's an **old** friend."

Roxy visibly deflated. If this wasn't exclusive to just one trainer, then it wasn't much of a scandal. The others stared at the suddenly despondent girl.

"What's the big deal? Others professors do it too." Gary defended. He stared at Roxy for a moment before his face hardened in understanding. "Oh, I get it. It would make a better story if you could find some _controversy_ to boost rating. Well I'm so sorry." Roxy thought he sure didn't look it. "No scandal to be found here. All the major professors in the regions make a deal with the local trainers. Some provide money, special equipment, or some other payment for trainers making a milestone in updating the Pokédex. It's nothing new, and has been going on for years. In fact, didn't my grandpa tell the whole world about it in the lecture that started this whole mess?"

Roxy sank further into her seat.

"Some reporter that can't be bothered to do basic research." Gary sneered. The Professor looked disappointed in Roxy too. Ash and Tracy shared a look, but the Pokémon Watcher just shrugged. He didn't get it either.

"So, can I get back to the story now?" Ash asked the group. Randy gave him a thumbs up. Roxy straightened up, but didn't look at anybody. Gary huffed. The Professor just waved at him to continue. Ash just shrugged it off, and continued the story. "So yeah, Brock, Misty, and I called the Professor to let him know about the strange Pokémon in the woods. Come to think of it. He was acting suspiciously even then. He immediately knew what Pokémon I was talking about right off the bat. He was unusually concerned with our location at the time. Plus he dropped a major hint when he admitted to actually seeing one of the rumored powers a Succine has."

The room's occupants were sitting on the edge of their seats now, even Roxy "What power is that, Ash?" The reporter questioned, still refusing to look Gary in the eyes. Ash just grinned, ignoring the tension in the room, and pointed to the Professor. The elderly man rolled his eyes, but Ash knew that the topic would be enough to pull him out of his weird funk.

True to form, the Poké Prof didn't disappoint. "According to folktales Succine personifies," but Professor was interrupted by Randy.

"I'm going to need clarification for the viewers Prof." He told the scientist with a shrug.

Gary rolled his eyes. "Personification, the embodiment of an abstract concept, like the sun, moon, earth, or anything not thought to be alive."

"Thank you, Gary." The Professor told his grandson with a smile, completely ignoring the snarky tone. He winked at his grandson. He knew that the teen's prickliness was just because he cared. "As I was saying, Succine is thought to be the personification of the North Wind. It is also believed to have the power to purify tainted waters. Those tales are definitely true."

Ash grinned, and cuddled his partner. "Yeah and the three of us," he pointed to himself, the Professor, and Pikachu, "have seen it in person. It was really cool."

"Yes. Yes, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Come to think of it, I pretty much outed myself with admitting to seeing that didn't I."

Ash didn't bother to deny it.

The elder Oak sighed. "Yes. I can see it in your eyes. To be fair I really did have a lot on my mind. As soon as you mentioned where you were, I knew that this particular adventure was about to happen. I really debated with myself on whether to warn you or not. It was a tough decision. In the end, the desire to not mess up and cause more of a disturbance in the flow of time won out."

Ash snorted, and Pikachu looked disgruntled too. "That doesn't explain why you didn't tell us after!"

For the first time in his life, Gary Oak watched as his grandfather blushed. He didn't like it. At. All. "Whatever. I'm sure your delicate feelings will get over it. Didn't you have a story to finish?" His grandfather sent him a grateful look. Gary pretended that he hadn't seen it.

Ash sighed, and let it go. "Yeah, well eventually I figured it out." Suddenly, the trainer grinned. "Betcha Misty and Brock never caught on though. I wish I could see their faces when this gets televised."

"Focus Ash." Tracy admonished his friend.

"Okay. Okay. We talked to the Professor, got a little info on some of the legends surrounding it. Would've asked some more questions, but we got called away by Mr. White. He was ready to show us the way to his home. We cut the call, and hurried over. Turns out the guy had his own smaller boat to carry us up river. We hopped aboard, until we reached a waterfall. Totally thought we were stuck. Then Mr. White pulls a lever, and suddenly these big orange balloons off both sides of the boat start to inflate. Next thing I know our boat is floating in the air! Not sure how exactly, but the thing was some kind of boat/dirigible."

Roxy was astounded. All the past tension forgotten. "That sounds really cool."

Ash smiled at her. He seemed a lot more relaxed now. "It really was. He floated right through the treetops. The view was amazing. What was even cooler was that some of these trees sported houses and walkways. There was a whole village built into the treetop. Talk about living with nature. Mr. White called the place Arborville. You should totally visit if you get the chance."

"Anyways, Mr. White dropped us off. Brock wanted to explore the town, but I really wanted to check out the local Pokémon. Brock gave in, and the tree of us headed off towards this big huge log with a big hole to let people through. Basically a really big natural gateway. We were about to go through, when this little old lady told us to halt. She had a warning about the Voice of the Forest."

Then the Professor chimed in. "Incidentally, this was the same woman who intercepted my younger self, one Miss and later Mrs. Towa."

When everyone but Ash and Pikachu looked confused, Ash clarified with a shrug. "Time travel."

"It is very complicated. Even I sometimes have trouble keeping the tenses straight, I've had a lot more time to contemplate it." The Professor admitted.

Ash shook his head. "Think I'll just stick to what I've seen and heard. Seems a lot simpler. Anyways, there was this little old lady standing guard over the entrance to the forest. She tells us to beware the Voice of the Forest. That if we don't want to be swept away, then we needed to stay still when a strange sound echoed through the forest." Ash's statement seemed to have upset the wild Pidgey. It leaped into Ash's lap, cooing in distress. Pikachu tried talking to the small creature, but it didn't calm until Ash started petting the chick. "Don't worry girl. The Voice of the Forest isn't anything to be scared of. It might sound scary, but really they are very nice." Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Roxy took the break in the story to ask a question. "What did the woman mean by being swept away?"

"Well…" Ash said with a shrug. "It's just that when Celebi, otherwise known as the Voice of the Forest, time traveled it would make that particular forest react weirdly. That's where the whole voice thingy came from. If you got too close, you could be pulled into a different time with Celebi."

With the revelation of the identity of the Voice of the Forest Pidgey calmed down. She didn't move off Ash's lap though. It seemed the trainer knew just the right way to fluff her feathers. It was nice. Pikachu vacated the lap to lay on his trainer's shoulders. He didn't mind. Much.

"So kind of like the Professor here?" Tracy pointed out. Both Ash and the older Oak nodded in agreement.

"Yup. That's when a girl came up behind us. She had hair similar to the gatekeeper, and was kind of pretty. Which of course meant that Brock had to hit on her." The teen rolled his eyes, and he could hear his partner sniggering in his ear. "Then again, that's what he always did. The girl's name was Diana, and it was her grandmother that gave us the warning, Mrs. Towa. Turns out that the old woman had been watching over the entrance since a teenager."

"I can attest to that." Professor Oak supplied.

Ash didn't bother to respond to the comment, but kept going with the story. "Diana didn't get to tell us much more. Brock wasn't letting up with the flirting, and Misty was getting annoyed. She dragged him off by the ear."

Roxy was concerned. "Wouldn't that hurt?"

Ash shrugged. "If it does it is his own fault. He hasn't stopped in all the years I've known him. Plus, it wasn't just Misty. I've done it, my friend from Hoenn, Sinnoh, heck even his own Pokémon have done it. So I don't feel sorry for him. He has to learn some time." That got him a few chuckles from the peanut gallery.

Tracy could remember several stories about the man during their travels in the Orange Islands. He could even recall a few instances of Brock getting dragged off over the vid phone. "Yeah, he's really incorrigible. A great friend though." He shook off the memories. "What happened after that Ash? Did you make into the forest?"

"We did, but not very far. We saw some Nidoran, a gathering of Butterfree, but then something weird happened." Ash paused for dramatic effect. He smirked as everyone waited with bated breath for the next part of the story. Pikachu poked him in the cheek, telling him to get on with it. "A loud ringing broke out. It sounded like a cacophony of bells. Then the trees began to glow. Like really glow. So bright they were almost white. They rippled too, which helped us figure out which way the 'Voice' might be coming from. Brock wanted us to wait, but Misty and I took off."

Pikachu poked him in the cheek again.

"Alright. I ran off. Misty just ran after me, with Brock not far behind. Satisfied?" He said to his partner, that wasn't bothering to hide his laughter. Ash rolled his eyes. "We followed the glowing trees to a moss covered shrine, and laying in front of it was an unconscious boy."

"The Professor?" Roxy asked to clarify.

Ash nodded. The Professor did too. "Yeah, but we didn't know that at the time. He was just some kid who could be hurt. We were of similar size, so I carried him back to town. Brock and Misty ran ahead to get help. We had just made it back to Mrs. Towa and Diana when he, "Ash pointed to the Professor, "managed to wake up. Of course the first thing he does is shove me to the ground."

The Professor blushed. "To be fair, the last thing I remembered was someone attacking me. Then there all these strange people surrounding me. I think anyone would've lash out."

"Maybe," Ash said with a sniff. Pikachu covered his eyes in embarrassment. Seriously, his human could be such a drama queen.

Tracy tried to defuse the situation. "I think we can all agree that there mitigating circumstances. How did you find out that the kid you found was from the past?"

Ash huffed, but let it go. "It was Mrs. Towa who figured it out first. She recognized the younger Prof right off the bat. She practically hug/tackled him. She just was so excited. She explained that she still remembered him, even if it had been 40 years since she had last seen him. She told us all about how he disappeared from the forest. Her granddaughter didn't believe it at first, but the older lady had proof. Then Sam recognized her, and the rest of us followed to get the entire story."

Then the Professor decided to chip in. "I recognized the older woman's clothes first. Her style was pretty much the same from the day I traveled through time. I suppose it is some kind of uniform of sorts. It kind of threw me when the girl I met all those years ago had wrinkles, and had somehow shrunk. Those eyes though, they were the same. Still a warm blue color, just like when she gave me the loaf of bread."

From the room's skeptical looks Ash decided to elaborate. "That's not the proof by the way. It turns out the gatekeeper had saved the younger, should I call you Sam or Professor now?" Ash asked the Professor. It was getting confusing differentiating the younger Oak with the one currently present.

The Professor smiled softly. "I believe back then I did tell you to call me Sam."

"Right." Ash acknowledge with a grin of his own. "Well, when **Sam** disappeared over 40 years ago he left behind a notebook. Mrs. Towa kept it, hoping someday he'd be back to claim it. It was full of sketches, and Sam immediately recognized it. It seemed to be the proof he needed to believe that he really was in the future."

"I still have that notebook, which is currently in Tracy's hands at the moment." The Professor told the group. Tracy glanced down at his hands. He carefully traced over the cover of the nearly a century old sketchbook. It was so amazing.

"Then Sam seemed to remember something important. He began asking about a Pokémon called Celebi. He was really worried about it. He asked us if we remembered seeing a hurt Pokémon anywhere nearby. Unfortunately, we hadn't seen anyone but Sam."

"Was the Pokémon injured?" Roxy asked. Both Ash and the Professor grimaced. That was answer enough.

Ash glanced at the Professor, but the older man just waved at him to continue. "Yeah. The bounty hunter from 40 years ago had really left his mark. Except we didn't know that for sure until we left Mrs. Towa's place, but first we needed more information. Diana had to explain that whole Voice of the Forest thing was just a title for Celebi. Then all about how Sam got to the future was because they both were in danger. Of course, this made Sam even more determined to check on Celebi. He was all about to charge out on his own, so all the four of us decided to go with him. Which means we all had to introduce ourselves. I also remember that you," he pointed to the Professor, "introduced yourself twice."

Professor Oak sniffed, but eyes betrayed his amusement. "Once to the humans, and once to Pikachu. You of all people should know how much Pikachu demands respect."

Ash laughed, and Pikachu grinned from his perch. "Yeah, or you get the shock of your life."

Roxy was a little miffed. First she had lost her scoop, then got berated by the Professor's grandson, and now the conversation was getting off track. Again. While this bantering was entertaining and all, she really wanted to hear more about Legendary Pokémon. You know, the meat of the story. "That's wonderful for you all, but what about Celebi?"

Ash snorted, but the Professor was more understanding. "Yes, of course. We we're just getting to that."

"Yeah, hold your Ponyta. We're getting to the actual meeting Celebi part." Ash told the eager reporter. When she settled down Ash picked up the story. "So we all rushed out of Arborville, and headed to the forest. We headed back to the shrine where we all found Sam, but there was no sign of Celebi. We uh, kind of just wandered around after that. Celebi can fly, so there wasn't really any track we could follow. We just picked a direction, and got lucky. We found a couple of clues right off the bat."

"Like what?" Roxy asked.

"Well, there were all these Pokémon gathered around this huge tree. And I do mean huge, like taller than a skyscraper huge. There were several different kinds of Pokémon all gathered around a tiny hole where two collapsed tree met. Several were all peering in at whatever was hiding in there. They don't usually do that." Ash told the group.

The Professor could tell Ash was starting to get frustrated, so he took over the explanation. "You see, while most Pokémon are social by nature they don't tend to stray from their species overmuch. Of course there are cross species friendships. However, it is very rare to see several types of Pokémon gathered together except in emergencies. For instance you might see several types of Pokémon gathered together in a cave during a snowstorm, or if something is threatening their habitat. So, to see several different types of Pokémon gathered in one place is a good indicator that something significant is afoot."

Ash grimaced. "Yeah like a Legendary Pokémon getting hurt, and shivering in a little hidey-hole. That would gather quite a bit of attention." Pikachu let out a mall moan, and the trainer paused to comfort the creature.

Tracy looked about ready to cry. "Was Celebi really hurt that bad?"

The Professor considered the questions for several long moments. "Maybe not too badly physically hurt, but definitely exhausted. Celebi was also very obviously frightened after the way the poacher had hunted the poor thing."

The trainers in the room all grimaced at that.

"So we figured that Celebi wasn't doing too well. We were going to have a find a way up there to help it. Now way it was coming out on its own. I found this sturdy looking vine that looked like it would hold. Brock and Misty stayed on the ground, but Sam wasn't about to be left behind. It was a bit of a rough climb, but luckily the truck evened out closer to the top. That made it a much easier climb. Sam almost fell off though." He grinned at the Professor.

The elder Oak huffed. "I remember you actually did fall off."

"Did not!" Ash protested. Pikachu mumbled something, and Ash tweaked the yellow mouse's nose. "Celebi used a psychic blast to push me off. Guess at the moment it wasn't too trusting of humans."

Gary snorted. "Can you really blame it?"

Ash waved his hand in dismissal. "Nah. Not the first time something like's happened. Won't be the last either. I caught myself on tree trunk, and got right back up. No harm no foul."

The Professor unexpectedly sniggered. "Didn't Misty call you a Mankey during all of that."

"No-pe," Ash enunciated with a pop. "That was earlier, and it was Brock that claimed I must've evolved into a Primeape." The room broke out into chuckles. Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah. I climb like a Pokémon. That's not actually a bad thing ya know. I can't tell you how many scrapes that ability has gotten me out of it."

Gary just couldn't resist. It was too good of an opening. "Always knew you were primitive, just didn't realize that others saw it too.

Ash opened his mouth, but the Professor intervened. "Now. Now. Let's not forget why we are here. Now psychic blasts weren't the only thing Celebi used to protect itself was it."

Ash glared at the Professor before giving in. Pikachu crept up to whisper in his ear. He smiled at his partner, and scratched in that one special spot that turned his little buddy into a gooey mess. He was right. They could always get revenge on Gary later. "Yeah, and boy did those vine whips hurt. It took a lot of convincing to get Celebi to lay off, and let us help. Although they got a lot more cooperative once Celebi saw younger you's face."

"Good thing too. Otherwise we might not have been able to help them in time." The Professor admitted with a sigh.

"Yeah, but you're forgetting something Prof." Ash told his old friend with a grin. "We weren't alone. The whole forest was more than willing to help us help Celebi."


End file.
